LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Departmental Opinion Polls

Theresa May: To ask the Leader of the House what polling companies held contracts with her Office in 2007-08; and what  (a) surveys,  (b) questionnaires and  (c) other services each provided.

Helen Goodman: None.

Members: Allowances

Graham Allen: To ask the Leader of the House how many hon. Members used the allowance for European travel  (a) once,  (b) twice and  (b) three times in 2007-08.

Helen Goodman: During financial year 2007-08, 153 hon. Members claimed for European travel: 107 for one return journey, 36 for two and 10 for three.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006: Prosecutions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Solicitor-General how many prosecutions have been brought under the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 since the law was implemented.

Vera Baird: The Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 came into force on 1 October 2007 and to date there have been no prosecutions under the legislation.

TRANSPORT

A14: Repairs and Maintenance

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent on  (a) maintenance on and  (b) improvements to the A14 in each year since 1997; and what the equivalent projected expenditure for (i) 2009, (ii) 2010, (iii) 2011, (iv) 2012 and (v) 2013 is.

Tom Harris: The information requested cannot easily be provided for the whole A14 other than at a disproportionate cost.

A14: Road Traffic

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the volume of traffic between each pair of adjacent junctions on the A14 in each year since 1997; and what projections have been made for  (a) 2009,  (b) 2010,  (c) 2011,  (d) 2012 and  (e) 2013.

Tom Harris: Predictive data for the A14 are not held in the format requested.

Bus Services: Concessions

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2008,  Official Report, column 33W, on public transport: concessions, what account was taken of representations relating to those affected by mental health disabilities in determining the eligibility criteria for concessionary bus travel under the Transport Act 2000.

Rosie Winterton: The Department receives a large number of representations from interest groups during the development of any policy, and due regard is given to each before proposals are finalised. The eligibility criteria contained in the Transport Act 2000 was subject to debate during the passage of that Bill. Also, the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) was consulted on Government amendments which, among other things, clarified the various categories of disability included on the face of the Bill.

Departmental Domestic Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions she visited  (a) Scotland,  (b) Wales and  (c) Northern Ireland in an official capacity in the last 12 months.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In the last 12 months, Ministers in this Department have visited Scotland on seven occasions and Wales twice in their official capacities. No visits have been made to Northern Ireland during this period. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the "Ministerial Code".

Departmental Orders and Regulations

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many statutory instruments have been  (a) made and  (b) revoked by Ministers in her Department and its predecessors since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In the period from the creation of the Department for Transport in May 2002 until 31 March 2008 approximately 834 general statutory instruments and 9,512 local statutory instruments were made in the name of the Secretary of State for Transport.
	The number of statutory instruments made by Ministers of predecessor Departments, and of statutory instruments revoked, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions she has visited Essex in the last 12 months.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In the last 12 months, Ministers in this Department have visited Essex on three occasions in their official capacities. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the "Ministerial Code".

Fuels

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government has taken to encourage motorists to use greener fuels since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The main way that the Government have encouraged the use of alternative fuels since 1997 is through differentials in fuel duty between petrol and diesel and other fuels. There are also incentives through reduced rates of Vehicle Excise Duty for cars that run on certain alternative fuels and registered after 1 March 2001. Vehicles powered wholly by electric power are exempt from VED.
	The Government fund the running of an Infrastructure grant programme. The grants assist the building of refuelling stations for alternative fuels (natural gas/biogas, hydrogen and bio-ethanol). It is also funding research and development into battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles through a Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform, which brings together funding from the Department for Transport, Technology Strategy Board and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Previously low carbon vehicle research and development funding was provided through the Energy Saving Trust.
	The Government have also introduced the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). The RTFO, which came into effect from 15 April 2008 aims to ensure that sustainable biofuels make up an increasing percentage of total UK road transport fuels, and means that biofuels are starting to become available in low blends at the majority of forecourts in the UK.
	The Government previously provided grants through the Powershift and Clean Up programmes to encourage the purchase of low carbon vehicles. However it was clear that the funding levels available would not bring about the required market transformation so the funds were diverted to other environmental transport initiatives.

London Airports

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times her Department hired VIP facilities at  (a) Heathrow,  (b) Gatwick,  (c) Luton and  (d) Stansted airports in each month since May 2006; and what the expenditure on VIP facilities at each was in each of those months.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Since May 2006, the Department for Transport has hired VIP facilities at the aforementioned airports on one occasion. This occurred at Heathrow in July 2006 where the Department met a delegation of senior officials and a Transport Minister from outside the UK. The cost of hiring the facilities was £269.62.

M69: Repairs and Maintenance

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she expects the roadworks taking place on the M69 to be completed and all carriageways re-opened to traffic.

Tom Harris: The resurfacing work on the M69 is due to be completed and all carriageways re-opened by the end of the second week in May.

M69: Repairs and Maintenance

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons the roadworks taking place on the M69 were carried out concurrently to the roadworks taking place on the M1 motorway near junction 26; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: The work currently being undertaken on the M1 near Junction 26 is part of an ongoing major widening scheme; the M69 work is a shorter scale resurfacing scheme. To minimise disruption to road users, the Highways Agency's policy is to ensure, where possible, that concurrent roadworks are not carried out within 10 km of each other. The M1 and M69 schemes comply with that policy, being more than 50 kms apart.

Roads: Accidents

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 8 May 2008,  Official Report, columns 1066-7W, on roads: accidents, how many  (a) men and  (b) women were killed in car accidents in East Lancashire where at least one driver involved was aged 21 or under and (i) male and (ii) female in each year since 2000.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The numbers of  (a) male and  (b) female car occupant fatalities in reported road accidents where the driver was (i) male and (ii) female and aged 21 years or under in East Lancashire in 2000 to 2006 are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of fatalities 
			   0-21 year old male car driver  0-21 year old female car driver 
			   Male fatality  Female fatality  Male fatality  Female fatality 
			 2000 2 1 0 0 
			 2001 7 0 0 0 
			 2002 4 1 0 0 
			 2003 2 0 0 0 
			 2004 3 0 0 0 
			 2005 3 1 0 1 
			 2006 1 0 0 0 
			  Note: East Lancashire = Hyndburn, Pendle, Burnley, Rossendale, Ribble Valley and Blackburn with Darwen.

Shipping: Fees and Charges

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the Government's policy is on the proposal from Norway and Denmark for a charge and fund scheme for international shipping.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I assume the hon. Member is referring to the proposal from Denmark for a global levy on marine bunker fuel. The Government support the aims and intentions behind the proposal.
	The Government are clear that, as shipping volumes continue to grow, the industry must take its share of responsibility for tackling the problem of climate change. We also believe it is vital to investigate all options for reducing emissions from international shipping, including improved technology, better operator practices and market-based measures.
	The Government therefore welcome the opportunity to debate the proposal at the forthcoming International Maritime Organization Marine Environment Protection Committee working group on greenhouse gas emissions in Oslo in June, together with the wide range of other ideas on the table.

Trains

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the 1,300 extra railway carriages referred to in the high-level output statement published in 2007 have been  (a) ordered from manufacturers,  (b) delivered and  (c) brought into use.

Tom Harris: There have been 317 vehicles ordered from manufacturers. The first of these units is due for delivery in October 2008.

Transport Appraisal

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations she has received on the methodology integral to the New Approach to Transport Appraisal.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 12 May 2008
	The Government have recently consulted on a number of matters relating to the New Approach To Appraisal with the document 'The NATA Refresh: Reviewing the New Approach to Appraisal'. The consultation period closed on 31 March 2008 and officials are now reviewing the 101 responses received ahead of the Department's response.

West Coast Railway Line

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she expects the West Coast Main Line timetable due to be implemented in December 2008 to be implemented on time.

Tom Harris: The current expectation of Network Rail is that the modernisation will be completed in December as scheduled. The Office of Rail Regulation has undertaken a review of the delivery plan of Network Rail and found it to be robust.
	Some issues remain to be resolved between Network Rail and passenger and freight train operators in relation to the timings and detail of the possessions needed for the works to take place.

WALES

Departmental Equality

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether his Department met the Civil Service diversity targets set out on page 51 of Cabinet Office Annual Report 2007 by April 2008.

Paul Murphy: The latest published statistics against overall civil service targets were at October 2007, and are available on the civil service website at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/diversity/monitoring.asp
	The final measurement against the targets will be published in autumn 2008.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Equality

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department met the Civil Service diversity targets set out on page 51 of Cabinet Office Annual Report 2007 by April 2008.

David Cairns: The latest published statistics against overall civil service targets were at October 2007, and are available on the civil service website at
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/diversity/monitoring.asp.
	The final measurement against the targets will be published in autumn 2008. The annual report of the Scotland Office will shortly be published and this will provide information on diversity.

Departmental Translation Services

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was spent by his Department on translation and interpretation services in 2007-08, broken down by language.

David Cairns: Nothing.

Devolution

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps the Calman Commission has taken to  (a) publicise its work outside Scotland,  (b) obtain evidence from people resident outside Scotland and  (c) obtain evidence on (i) the impact Scottish devolution has had on the rest of the United Kingdom and (ii) on the effect that further devolution of powers would have on the rest of the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

David Cairns: The remit of the Commission on Scottish Devolution was made known in my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland's written ministerial statement of 25 March 2008,  Official Report, column 8WS.
	It will consult as widely as possible and listen to all voices in Scotland and the rest of the UK. Its work will be published on its website:
	http://www.commissiononscottishdevolution.org.uk
	throughout the review process.

OLYMPICS

Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister for the Olympics on how many occasions she has visited Essex in the last 12 months.

Tessa Jowell: I have visited Essex once in an official capacity since my appointment as Minister for the Olympics.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Crimes of Violence: Children

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many violent crimes where a child under five years was a victim resulted in a conviction in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Paul Goggins: The information is not available in the format requested. Northern Ireland conviction data do not include victim information in relation to the commission of an offence and violent crimes against children under five years do not constitute separate offences by legislation.
	It is only possible to give the number of convictions for those violent offences, which in their definition, refer to a child or children. The data provided in the following table cover the calendar years 2002 to 2006 (the latest available) and are collated on the principal offence rule; so only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.
	
		
			  Number of convictions for violent offences against a child by offence 2002-06( 1) 
			  Offence  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Common assault on child or young person 2 0 1 1 2 
			 Aggravated assault on male child 15 3 11 7 5 
			 Cruelty to person under 16 years 8 12 8 10 3 
			 Causing or procuring cruelty to children 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Total 25 15 20 18 11 
			 (1) Data do not include sexual offences against a child or children.

Prisons: Drugs

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what quantity of illegal drugs was discovered in each of Northern Ireland's prison and detention centres in each of the last three years.

Paul Goggins: The following tables record the quantity and type of illegal drugs discovered in the last three years. (A breakdown for each establishment is only available for the last year.)
	
		
			  By establishment—March 2007 to February 2008 
			   Maghaberry  Magilligan  Hydebank Wood  Total 
			 Cannabis (Grams) 387.3 140.1 99.1 626.5 
			 Steroid Tablets 4 49 27 80 
			 LSD 0 0 0 0 
			 Heroin tablets 19.5 6 0 25.5 
			 Heroin (Grams) 2.3 6 0 8.3 
			 Cocaine (Grams) 1 0 0 1 
			 Ecstasy Tablets 15 100 6 121 
			 Unknown tablets 688.5 506 31 1225.5 
			 Diazepam 1202 100 6 1308 
			 Temazepam tablets 1 0 60 61 
			 Amphetamine (Grams) 0 15.7 21 36.7 
			 Amphetamine tablets 12 0 0 12 
			 Unknown Powder (Grams) 3.4 2.3 0.5 6.2 
		
	
	
		
			  Type and quantity of illegal drugs found in NIPS establishments from March 2005 to February 2007 
			   March - February 
			   2005 - 06  2006 - 07 
			 Unidentified Tablets 435.5 1607 
			 Cannabis (Grams) 813.2 417.2 
			 Amphetamine Tablets 185 185 
			 Amphetamine Powder (Grams) 10.6 10.6 
			 Diazepam Tablets 140 353 
			 Heroin Powder 20.3 2.4 
			 Heroin Tablets 15.5 5 
			 Temazepam Tablets 63.5 27 
			 Ecstasy Tablets 0 5 
			 LSD (Grams) 12.7 12.7 
			 LSD Tablets 41.5 41.5 
			 Steroid Tablets 384 484 
			 Steroid Vials 3 8 
			 Cocaine (Grams) 4 5.1 
			 Unknown Powder 0 0

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he will publish the schedule for the implementation of the proposals in the McMaster Review of the Arts.

Margaret Hodge: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for South-West Surrey (Mr. Hunt) on 21 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1729W.
	It is our intention to publish an overview of how all interested parties have worked, and will continue to work together to deliver the review's recommendations before the summer.

Arts Council of England: Finance

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of Arts Council England's  (a) total income,  (b) grant-in-aid income and  (c) National Lottery income was provided to organisations in the form of (i) grants and (ii) regular funding in each of the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 7 May 2008
	This information has been provided by Arts Council England and is set out in the tables. Figures for 2007-08 are the forecast outturn.
	
		
			  (a) Total income allocated in the form of (i) grants and  (ii) regular funding. 
			   Total income (£ 000 )  Grant  in  aid grants and Lottery grants as a percentage of total income (£000)  Grant  in  aid to regularly funded organisations as a percentage of total income (£000) 
			 2007-08 559,160 27.9 (156,431) 58.3 (326,053) 
			 2006-07 576,245 34.9 (201,405) 54.6 (314,916) 
			 2005-06 581,253 44.2 (257,120) 52.6 (306,209) 
			 2004-05 539,054 42 (226,608) 51.8 (279,373) 
			 2003-04 486,667 39.1 (190,321) 52.3 (254,906) 
		
	
	
		
			  b) Grant  in  aid income allocated In the form of (i) grants and  (ii) regular funding 
			   Grant  in  aid income (£000)  Gran t  in  aid grants as a percentage of g r ant  in  aid income (£000)  Grant  in  aid to regularly funded organisations as a percentage of grant  in  aid income (£000) 
			 2007-08 422,610 12.6 (53,107) 77.1 (326,053) 
			 2006-07 426,531 14.1 (59,945) 73.8 (314,916) 
			 2005-06 408,678 11.3 (46,192) 74.9 (306,209) 
			 2004-05 368,859 9.6 (36,717) 75.7 (279,373) 
			 2003-04 324,955 6.8 (22,133) 78.4 (254,906) 
		
	
	
		
			  (c) National Lottery income allocated in the form of (i) grants and (ii) regular funding 
			   Lottery income (£000)  Lottery grants as a percentage of Lottery income  (£000)  Lottery grants for regularly funded organisations as a percentage of Lottery income  (£000) 
			 2007-08 136,550 75.7 (103,324) 0 
			 2006-07 149,714 94.5 (141,460) 0 
			 2005-06 172,575 122.2 (210,928) 0 
			 2004-05 170,195 111.6 (189,891) 0 
			 2003-04 161,712 104 (168,188) 0

Consultants

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what payments VisitBritain made to Connect Public Affairs in each of the last five years; on what dates; and for what purpose in each case.

Margaret Hodge: VisitBritain has provided the following information about the dates, amounts and purpose of payments made by them to Connect Public Affairs during the last five years:
	
		
			  Date  Purpose/Service  Net  a mount (£) 
			 monthly since November 2006 Political monitoring - daily email plus weekly summary of the week ahead and special reports e.g. on the Budget 850 
			 monthly since November 2006 Office expenses, including phone, photocopying, @ 6.75 per cent. of professional fees 57.38

Internet: Direct Mail

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to reduce the incidence of spam on the internet.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	The Information Commissioner's Office has responsibility for enforcing the regulations that control unsolicited e-mails (spam) and considers complaints about breaches. A breach of an enforcement notice is a criminal offence that can attract a maximum fine of up to £5,000.
	Spam is a global problem and one which, it is estimated, accounts for over 80 per cent. of all internet traffic(1). Much spam originates outside the UK. For that reason, the steps we can take in the UK to reduce its incidence are limited.
	However, my Department has frequent discussions with internet service providers (ISPs) on improving filters and other mechanisms to prevent mischievous traffic reaching their customers, and making end users more aware of the tools available to them to counter spam. Many ISPs have specific spam mail boxes where individuals can report and complain about specific e-mails, as well as offering filtering software which can be used to prevent spam being received.
	( 1 ) Source:
	Symantech—The State of Spam—April 2008.

Internet: Suffolk

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what percentage of homes in rural Suffolk have access to  (a) dial-up internet connections,  (b) broadband connections and  (c) high-speed broadband connections;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of households in Suffolk without access to the internet, broken down by income band.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	The matter raised is the responsibility of the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which is accountable to Parliament rather than Ministers. Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of Ofcom to reply directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the chief executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Theatres: Kent

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment he has made of the effect of Arts Council England's regional theatre policy on theatres in Kent.

Margaret Hodge: Arts Council England is responsible for assessing the impact of its policies on individual art forms.
	Arts Council England does recognise the potential effect of its investment strategy on theatre in Kent. The Arts Council is committed to making the highest quality arts available to the widest possible audience throughout Kent and is currently exploring a number of ideas on how best to build theatre activity in the area.
	Arts Council England will continue to support organisations such as the New Marlowe in Canterbury, Margate Theatre Royal, Gulbenkian Theatre in Canterbury, and the Trinity Theatre in Tunbridge Wells through a number of schemes including Grants for the Arts, the Arts Councils scheme for funding one off projects to individuals and organisations.

Visual Arts: Finance

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on art storage in each of the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: Between 70 per cent. to 75 per cent. of the Government Art Collection's works of art are out on display at any one time. The remaining works available for selection are held at the GAC's premises. A small number of works of art are too large to be housed at the GAC and are in commercial storage. There is an active programme of taking these large works of art out of storage and placing them on display in suitable buildings.
	The Government Art Collection spent the following on storage charges in the last five years.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2003-04 7,266.87 
			 2004-05 9,348.28 
			 2005-06 8,507.00 
			 2006-07 10,005.13 
			 2007-08 10,407.55

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Catering

Mark Oaten: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what proportion of chicken served in the House of Commons estate was produced under the RSPCA's Freedom Food scheme in the most recent period for which figures are available; and if the Commission will make it its policy to provide such figures annually.

Nick Harvey: Since January 2008, the House of Commons Catering Service has secured a supply of chicken produced under the RSPCA's Freedom Food scheme, and this now accounts for almost 40 per cent. of the Department's purchases of fresh chicken meat. The quality, reliability and relative affordability of this supply has enabled the Department to move forward from a position in 2007 when less than 10 per cent. of chicken supplied for the House of Commons restaurants met higher welfare standards consistent with those developed by the RSPCA.
	Subject to availability and affordability constraints, the Catering Service aspires to further increase the proportion of higher welfare chicken purchased, and met with representatives of Freedom Food earlier this month to discuss how this might be achieved.
	The Commission does not publish detailed food procurement statistics, but the director of Catering and Retail Services will be happy to provide periodic details about the proportion of chicken sourced from RSPCA Freedom Food approved sources. The director has suggested that this could be published as part of a regular update on food provenance issues that is being developed for the Catering and Retail Services intranet pages.

Catering

Mark Oaten: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what proportion of meat produce served in the House of Commons was Freedom Food-approved in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Nick Harvey: All fresh meat served in the House of Commons is sourced from producers that demonstrate high levels of animal welfare under an accredited farm assurance scheme such as the 'Red Tractor' scheme, which encompasses 'Assured British Pigs' and 'Assured British Meat'. All pork is free range.
	Other than chicken, no meat currently served in the House of Commons restaurants is accredited under the RSPCA's Freedom Foods scheme. However, the director of Catering and Retail Services met with Freedom Food representatives earlier this month to discuss the supply of pork, beef and lamb and to identify ways of working together to establish a supply chain.

Drinking Water

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how much was spent per day on bottled water on the parliamentary estate in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Nick Harvey: Daily expenditure on bottled water is not recorded across the parliamentary estate. Annual expenditure by the House of Commons for 2007-08 and an approximate daily cost based on the number of working days in 2007-08 are as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 Total cost of purchases for 2007-08 29,866 
			 Approximate daily cost 118.35 
		
	
	In addition, the total cost of bottled water purchased by Catering and Retail Services for sale to customers during the same period was £32,979.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire and Rescue Authority: Finance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she has received on Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire and Rescue Authority funding for 2008-09.

John Healey: The consultation period on the 2008-09 and provisional 2009-10 and 2010-11 local government finance settlements ran between 6 December 2007 and 8 January 2008.
	During this consultation period, we received three representations from Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire and Rescue Authority.
	The representations contained points on the population data used in the settlements, transitional funding and the overall financial settlement.

Construction: Fraud

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate her Department has made of the cost to local authorities of collusion, bid rigging or cover pricing by the construction sector in the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: The OFT is currently carrying out an investigation into such allegations in construction in both the public and private sectors. No specific estimate has been made for the cost to local authorities.

Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households are liable for council tax and are not exempt or in receipt of 100 per cent. council tax benefit.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 11 December 2007,  Official Report, column 541W.
	Data for Wales are available on the Welsh Assembly Government website.

Council Tax: Tax Allowances

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will list each type of local council tax discount introduced by billing authorities under the Local Government Act 2003 in the most recent financial year for which figures are available.

John Healey: Details of the types of local council tax discount that were being awarded by billing authorities under the Local Government Act 2003 as at 8 October 2007, the latest date for which figures are available, are listed as follows. At this date, 37 authorities reported they were making local council tax discounts to either individuals or a particular class of taxpayer. The discounts shown may have been awarded by one or more authority.
	 Particular classes of taxpayer or property:
	Pensioners;
	Properties affected by flooding;
	Various classes of empty properties;
	Single occupiers who are called up for 28 days or more as members of the reserve forces;
	Those to whom, because they have been affected by the change in regulations since a discount was originally awarded, a discount has been awarded so as to not disadvantage them;
	Properties that are no one person's sole or main residence where access is restricted;
	Occupied and unoccupied furnished properties that do not have the benefit of mains services including beach chalets;
	Difficult to let properties;
	Taxpayers who can comply with the council's Mooring Policy.
	 Other discretionary discounts based on individual cases:
	Property affected by the proximity of a electricity generating wind turbine;
	Hard to sell property;
	Problems with a chalk mine;
	Property damaged by fire;
	RAF personnel where redundancy was delayed owing to events abroad;
	New unfinished property;
	Hardship.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department and its predecessors spent on carbon offsetting in each of the last three years; and to which companies payments for carbon offsetting were made in each such year.

Parmjit Dhanda: Communities and Local Government spent £2,730 to offset 275 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from its ministerial and official air travel in 2006-07. These figures do not include data from the Department's Executive agencies or the regional Government offices.
	This was the first year that the Department offset any emissions. Data are being gathered to offset emissions from air travel undertaken during 2007-08.
	The Department currently only offsets emissions from is air travel and does this through the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund (GCOF).
	The GCOF is being managed by EEA Fund Management Ltd., who won the contract to source and deliver 255,000 Certified Emission Reduction Credits, with a provision for a further 50,000 credits, over three years from a range of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects. Credits will be supplied from the project portfolio of Trading Emissions plc, to whom EEA is the investment adviser.

Departmental Computer Software

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many copies of Adobe Acrobat, excluding Adobe Reader software, are licensed to her Department.

Parmjit Dhanda: There are 79 copies of Adobe Acrobat licensed for use within the Department.

Flood Control: Buckingham

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions her Department has had with the Environment Agency on the Buckingham Flood Alleviation Scheme.

John Healey: My Department has not held any recent meetings with the Environment Agency to discuss the Scheme. However, there may have been discussions held at a regional level on the Buckingham Flood Alleviation Scheme.

Floods: Costs

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the  (a) public purse,  (b) local community and  (c) local economy of the flooding in Buckingham of 21 July 2007.

John Healey: We do not hold information about the total costs to specific local areas of the county. Nor do we hold figures for the financial impact on local economies which is also difficult to quantify. However, the South East Regional Development Agency has reported that 110 businesses were affected across the South East. Only one business in Buckingham applied to the RDA for grant aid and as a result received a payment of £1,382.04.

Infrastructure Planning Commission: Appeals

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what provision for appeals against decisions made by the Infrastructure Planning Commission she plans to put in place; and what role the Planning Inspectorate will play in such procedures.

John Healey: Under the proposals in the Planning Bill, decisions made by the Infrastructure Planning Commission will be challengeable through a claim for judicial review rather than through an appeal mechanism.

Infrastructure Planning Commission: Pollution

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Infrastructure Planning Commission considers  (a) air quality and  (b) noise pollution factors in determining major infrastructure planning applications.

John Healey: Under the proposals in the Planning Bill, when determining major infrastructure applications, the Infrastructure Planning Commission will be required to have regard to the relevant National Policy Statement, other matters which may be set out in secondary legislation and any other matters which the Commission thinks are important and relevant to its decision.
	National Policy Statements will be subject to an appraisal of sustainability and will take into account other government policies, including policies on air quality and noise impacts, where they are relevant. The Infrastructure Planning Commission will also have to ensure that relevant provisions of European Community environmental law are complied with, including those covering air quality and noise pollution.

Infrastructure Planning Commission: Public Appointments

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  when she plans to announce the names of members of the Infrastructure Planning Commission;
	(2)  when she expects the Infrastructure Planning Commission to commence operation.

John Healey: Subject to gaining parliamentary approval for the necessary primary legislation, we expect the first appointments to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) to be made in spring 2009 with the IPC ready to advice applicants later the same year. We expect the IPC to begin determining applications in 2010 and we will be consulting with potential applicants about the appropriate length of time between national policy statements, regulations and guidance being issued and the new regime coming into effect.

Infrastructure Planning Commission: Public Appointments

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consideration she will give to expertise in  (a) air quality and  (b) noise pollution in planning decisions relating to road or aviation infrastructure when making appointments to the Infrastructure Planning Commission.

John Healey: The White Paper "Planning for a Sustainable Future" stated that commissioners would be appointed from a wide range of fields such as national and local government, community engagement, planning, law, engineering, economics, business, security, environment, heritage and health, as well as, if necessary, specialist technical expertise related to a particular sector.

Leisure: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reason the hon. Member for Warrington North was not  (a) notified of or  (b) invited to her briefing on the Orford Park Project.

Parmjit Dhanda: I understand that Warrington borough council made a request to meet the Regional Minister for the North West in the margins of a conference she was attending, in order to brief her on the Orford Park Project. This meeting was arranged on the afternoon of Wednesday 7 May.
	In accordance with paragraph 10.9 of the ministerial code, the hon. Member was notified about, and invited to the event on Thursday the 8 May, via the Private Office of the Regional Minister for the North West.

Local Authorities: Culture

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on the production of local cultural strategies; and whether such strategies are submitted to her Department.

Parmjit Dhanda: Councils are no longer required to produce or submit free-standing local cultural strategies. Instead they are expected to subsume planning for the longer-term cultural priorities for their area within their broader Sustainable Community Strategy. This approach is in line with a wider process of devolving greater freedoms to councils—in part by reducing the number of statutory plans they were required to produce.
	Guidance on how best to achieve this expectation was issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in June 2004 entitled "Leading the good life: guidance on integrating cultural and community strategies".
	Guidance on Sustainable Community Strategies was first issued in 2000. This has since been updated in draft form as part of a broader package of guidance also covering, for example, Local Strategic Partnerships and Local Area Agreements. This guidance, entitled "Creating Strong, Safe and Prosperous Communities", was issued in draft on 30 November 2007. Following a public consultation on this guidance which closed on 12 February we will be issuing the final guidance this summer. This guidance states that
	'The purpose of a Sustainable Community Strategy is to set the overall strategic direction and long-term vision for the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of a local area'
	(see paragraph 3.1). Sustainable Community Strategies continue to be required to be produced by local councils but are not submitted to the Government.

Local Government Finance

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information her Department holds on local authorities' equity to debt ratios; and what guidance her Department provides to local authorities on appropriate levels for those ratios.

John Healey: Communities and Local Government collects data on the amount and nature of local authority borrowing, lending and investments to varying levels. Analyses of these data are published. The Department is also currently collecting data that could be used to calculate local authority equity (the difference between their assets and liabilities) as part of the Whole of Government Accounts exercise, but this exercise is still in its experimental phase.
	By statute local authorities' debt is secured on their revenues and not their assets. The Department does not therefore provide guidance on equity to debt ratios for local authorities. We have, however, given statutory backing to the Prudential Code issued by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy on the affordability of borrowing by local authorities, and to the Institute's code of practice on treasury management as it applies to local authorities.

Regional Planning and Development

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 3 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1275W, on regional planning and development, if she will place in the Library a copy of each development plan independent examination report published by a planning inspector appointed by the Secretary of State to date since the coming into force of the 2004 Act.

Iain Wright: A copy of each of the 68 reports provided on completed development plan document examinations will be deposited in the Library of the House.

Regional Planning and Development: South East

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will ensure that her proposed changes to the South East plan are published before 25 June 2008.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government intends to publish her Proposed Changes to Regional Spatial Strategy for the South East before the summer recess.
	I am sure the hon. Lady will understand that because of the nature of the work under way and the importance of the matters under consideration it would not be wise to commit, as she requests, to a more definitive timeframe.

Tenants: Deposits

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department plans to take to increase awareness of the tenancy deposit protection scheme among  (a) tenants and  (b) landlords.

Iain Wright: The Department was involved in an extensive publicity campaign in the run-up to the launch and immediately after the scheme's introduction. We will continue to encourage the three tenancy deposit protection scheme providers to promote awareness of the requirements to landlords. We also encourage consumer organisations, such as the Citizens' Advice Bureau and Shelter, to help increase tenants' awareness.

Tenants: Deposits

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what percentage of landlords of assured short hold tenancy property to which tenancy deposit protection applies have registered with the tenancy protection schemes established under contracts let by her Department.

Iain Wright: Over one million deposits for tenants with assured shorthold tenancies have been protected since tenancy deposit protection provisions commenced in April 2007. We do not hold a breakdown of the number or percentage of landlords this represents.

Valuation Office: Local Authorities

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many times the Valuation Office Agency's Local Authority Liaison Group met in the last 36 months.

John Healey: The Local Authority Liaison Group has met eight times in the last 36 months.

Valuation Office: Local Authorities

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authorities routinely submit CR10 reports to the Valuation Office Agency.

John Healey: In the three years to 2007-08 CR10 reports have been registered for all billing authorities.

Valuation Office: Publications

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library copies of the Valuation Office Agency's Billing Authority Newsletter from the last 36 months.

John Healey: The Valuation Office does not produce a central newsletter for Billing Authorities.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Pollution: Castle Point

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many sites in  (a) Castle Point constituency and  (b) constituencies adjacent to Castle Point monitor air quality.

Jonathan R Shaw: The are no national air quality monitoring sites within Castle Point constituency, although we are aware of the local authority monitoring site at Furtherwick Park School on Canvey Island. This is in the London Air Quality Monitoring Network, and is managed by King's College London.
	There are two national air quality monitoring sites in constituencies close to Castle Point. These are at Chalkwell Park in Southend-on-Sea, and at Abbott's Hall Close in Stanford-le-Hope.
	Further information on the national air quality monitoring networks can be found on the National Air Quality Information Archive at:
	www.airquality.co.uk

Angling: Licensing

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2008 , Official Report, columns 280-81W, on angling: licensing, what steps the Environment Agency is taking to improve disabled and senior anglers access to angling; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 8 May 2008
	 In 2007-08, £393,000 of Environment Agency funding was provided to 37 projects involving improved access. Together with partner contributions of £665,000 this resulted in a total spend of £1.058 million.
	The Environment Agency collaborated with the British Disabled Angling Association to produce comprehensive "Access Guidelines for Fisheries" on how to improve access for disabled anglers. This provides a reference point for all fishery owners on the design and issues of improving access for all.
	In 2008-09, subject to achieving licence sales targets, an additional £300,000 has been allocated to improving access, giving a projected spend of £600,000. The new work includes a joint programme with representatives of Disabled Angling groups of over 100 projects to identify where access can be improved for disabled anglers in particular. There will be additional access improvements projects delivered on the ground with fishery owners.
	Since 2006, the Environment Agency has produced free Angling Guides in paper and internet format. This provides information on the location of publicly accessible fisheries and whether these cater for disabled anglers.

Angling: Licensing

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2008,  Official Report, columns 280-81W, on angling: licensing, what proportion of the monies raised by higher duty rates will be used to improve access to angling for disabled and senior anglers.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 8 May 2008
	 The Environment Agency spends £2 million each year on fisheries improvement projects, of which £300,000 is nominally allocated to improve access.
	The forecast increased income arising from the concessionary change will be around £600,000. Subject to licence sales targets being achieved and suitable fisheries owners coming forward to work with them, it is anticipated that up to £300,000 (50 per cent.) of this extra income will be used in 2008-09 to undertake new work. This will provide a total spend of £600,000 on access improvement by the Environment Agency and its partners.

Biofuels: Research

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the value was of grants made by his Department for research into biofuels since 1 January 2006; and to which organisations they were given.

Phil Woolas: DEFRA's bio-energy R and D focuses on the genetic improvement and selection of biomass crops such as willow and miscanthus. Current spend is about £900,000 per year, which provides underpinning R and D for both second generation biofuels and solid biomass for energy. Other relevant work is being funded jointly with industry to breed wheat and oilseed rape varieties that require reduced fertiliser inputs (£331,000 in 2008-09 and approximately £814,000 in 2006-07 and 2007-08 combined).
	It is difficult to separate out the work exclusively on biofuels, but a specific project was funded in 2007 to assess 'Greenhouse gas emissions and environmental sustainability of international biofuels production and use' (£37,000).
	Organisations funded by DEFRA since 2006 are Aberystwyth university (IBERS), Rothamsted Research, AEA Technology, the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB), Warwick HRI and ADAS.
	DEFRA, through the International Sustainable Development Fund, are also funding two (desk) studies into Brazilian biofuels and their sustainability. One is by the university of Campinas, into bioethanol, and the other is by the university of Sao Paulo, into biodiesel. They are around £50,000 each.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he will decide his policy on whether to cull badgers to combat bovine tuberculosis; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: There is no timetable for a decision on this issue. There is a great deal of complex evidence to consider and the matter is receiving our attention.

Coastal Areas: Rights of Way

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the likely impact that an extension of coastal access will have on  (a) rural business owners and  (b) landowners.

Jonathan R Shaw: An Impact Assessment of proposals to improve access to the English coast has been carried out. It was published along with the draft Marine Bill on 3 April 2008 and is available on DEFRA's website.

Departmental Retirement

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much is planned to be spent on his Department's voluntary retirement scheme in each of the first three years of its existence.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 19 March 2008
	 This Department's 2007-08 voluntary early departure scheme is not a multi-annual scheme but was open for applications between September 2007 and January 2008 with provision set aside in this financial year for any payments to retirees, consequent on their departure under this scheme, which might fall in future years. It immediately followed a previous voluntary early departure scheme which ran from December 2006 to July 2007.
	It is estimated that during financial years 2006-07 and 2007-08 this Department will have spent £14.8 million and £49 million, respectively, on the funding of voluntary early departures under either scheme. There are currently no plans to launch further voluntary early departure schemes.
	The forecast core DEFRA paybill savings for the CSR07 period due to early departures via the two schemes of VER/S are:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2007-08 10 
			 2008-09 17.2 
			 2009-10 17.8 
			 2010-11 18.5 
		
	
	For the Rural Payments Agency the estimated costs during the financial year 2006-07 was a credit of £0.074 million, this was due to a reduction in the provision for exit costs as a result of some staff from 2005-06 withdrawing from their arrangements. In 2007-08 the estimated cost is £1.062 million.

Dredging: North Sea

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact on the East Coast of dredging for aggregates in the North Sea, with particular reference to the impact on coastal sea defences; and whether aggregates obtained from dredging of riverbeds and main watercourses are used by the construction industry.

Jonathan R Shaw: Marine minerals dredging in English waters is carefully controlled through the Environmental Impact Assessment and Natural Habitats (Extraction of Minerals by Marine Dredging) (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2007. All marine mineral dredging applications are required to assess the physical effects of the proposed dredging operation and its implications for coastal erosion by way of a Coastal Impact Study (CIS). A permission to dredge will only be issued if the regulator (the Marine and Fisheries Agency (MFA) on behalf of the Secretary of State), their advisors, consultees and major stakeholders are content that the proposed dredging is environmentally acceptable. In making this judgment the precautionary principle is always adopted and should the CIS show a potential to contribute to coastal erosion a permission would not be issued.
	Modelling and field studies on the impact of both individual offshore dredging licences and of the cumulative impacts of such licences have concluded that UK offshore dredging has not contributed to coastal erosion. There may be a potential impact on the coastline in relation to estuary and near-shore dredging for navigation purposes. However, in these cases, there is a clear need to balance economic and social imperatives of continued port operations with any environmental impact.
	Disposal of navigational dredgings in tidal waters is licensed under the Food and Environment Protection Act (FEPA) 1985. Before any licence can be issued for disposal, consideration must be made as to whether alternate waste management options are possible, including re-use. FEPA licences are not normally granted where practicable alternative means of recovery or disposal exist. We are working with the industry to secure ways to ensure the arisings of appropriate dredging spoil are more closely linked to suitable construction projects where re-use would not entail excessive costs.
	There have been a number of examples where materials that are to be dredged for navigational reasons have been diverted to alternative use, including for construction, land reclamation and for landscape bunding etc. For example, the Port of Southampton disposed of, for commercial use, a significant quantity of sand dredged from their navigational channels and the proposed London Gateway port development envisages using some 25 million tonnes of dredged materials for land-raising/landscaping works. It is not uncommon for port authorities to make available suitable dredged materials for use in maintaining beaches and inter-tidal areas. Harwich Haven Authority has previously entered into various agreements with local coast defence authorities to re-use suitable sand for beach replenishment.
	DEFRA continues to fund research into alternative uses of dredged material to improve understanding of how these can be used and, with its Marine and Fisheries Agency which regulates disposal of marine dredgings, are engaged with the Central Dredging Association (CEDA) to promote and increase beneficial use of materials.

Energy Supply: Carbon Emissions

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent meetings he has had with energy suppliers on the carbon dioxide emissions reduction target.

Phil Woolas: I attended a meeting at No. 11 Downing street with energy suppliers, ministerial colleagues and advisors on 24 April where among other issues, CERT was discussed.

Energy: EU Law

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what timetable has been set for the implementation of Lot 1 of the Energy-using Products Directive.

Joan Ruddock: The Commission has not yet set a formal timetable for bringing forward the implementing measure on Lot 1 of the Energy-using Products Directive, but has indicated that it expects the measure to go to the Regulatory Committee for a vote towards the end of 2008 or beginning of 2009.

Environment Agency: Consultants

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what payments the Environment Agency made to Zennor Consulting Ltd in each of the last three years; and on what date and for what purpose each such payment was made.

Phil Woolas: The following table shows transactions paid by the Environment Agency to Zennor Consulting Ltd in the 2006-07 financial year. It has no recorded transactions with Zennor Consulting Ltd in either 2005-06 or 2007-08.
	
		
			  Order date  Description  £ 
			 28 February 2007 Preparation and delivery of workshops on Territorial Co-operation project development 2,719.39 
			 30 October 2006 INTERREG project management training workshop 1,056.00 
			 28 July 2006 Preparation and delivery of keynote speech and workshop facilitation for Cycleau conference 2,449.87 
			 23 May 2006 Cost for audit preparation training for four people as part of the Improving Coastal and Recreational Waters Project 886.20 
			 Total — 7,111.46

Environment Protection: Dogger Bank

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will propose the Dogger Bank as an offshore special area of conservation under the EU Habitats Directive; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Dogger Bank has been identified as a draft Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the Habitats Directive Annex III Stage 1 selection criteria. Draft SACs are areas that have been formally advised to the UK Government as suitable for selection as SACs, but have not been formally approved by the Government as sites for public consultation.
	Further information in support of the recommendation for Dogger Bank is currently being gathered. Only after the necessary evidence has been collected can a recommendation be made.

EU Solidarity Fund

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to receive the £120 million allocated to the UK by the EU Solidarity Fund.

Kitty Ussher: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government are in the process of finalising the arrangements for the receipt of the funding and we expect to receive this shortly.
	The UK applied to the EU Solidarity Fund last August, and it was confirmed by the European Parliament in April that €162.4 million (£110 million) would be provided to the UK to help meet the costs of recovering from the summer 2007 floods.

Flood Control

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on flood defence schemes announced for construction in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 9 May 2008
	I have asked the chief executive of the Environment Agency to write with this information.

Pollution Control: EC Action

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the costs of pollution prevention and control permits in other EU member states for benchmarking purposes; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: My Department does not hold any information of the costs of pollution prevention and control (PPC) permits in other EU member states. Directive 2008/1/EC concerning integrated pollution prevention and control (codified version) is silent on the subject of member states charging for PPC permits. Some member states may not charge for IPPC permit applications, but may recover varying proportions of their costs from the regulated industry, while others bear the cost in general taxation. This is a political decision for each national Government. The differing practices which are in place make it difficult to make comparisons of the costs of PPC permits across the EU. In England and Wales regulators are required, in accordance with HMT guidance and the 'Polluter Pays Principle', to recover the costs of regulation from those they regulate.

Rights of Way

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many wardens as defined by section 18 of the Countryside Rights of Way Act 2000 have been appointed in  (a) each region and  (b) each local authority area since 2001.

Jonathan R Shaw: This information is not centrally held and could be gathered only at a disproportionate cost.

Seas and Oceans: Environment Protection

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 April 2008,  Official Report, columns 1371-2W, which  (a) special areas of conservation with marine components and  (b) special protection areas with marine components in UK inshore waters listed on the Joint Nature Conservation Council website are not included on the European Commission's equivalent lists; and for what reasons in each case.

Jonathan R Shaw: Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs) together form a network of Natura 2000 sites to protect habitats and species of European importance. SACs are designated under the EC Habitats Directive (Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) and SPAs are designated under the EC Wild Birds Directive (Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds).
	Sites in the UK that meet the qualifying criteria under the relevant directive are identified by the Joint Nature Conservation Council (JNCC) and are recommended to the Government for submission to the EC for adoption as SACs or SPAs respectively. The lists of Marine SACs and SPAs which appear on the JNCC website therefore correspond with those held on the EC's equivalent lists.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department and its agencies have commissioned, funded or utilised on the social impact of charging for the collection of household waste.

Joan Ruddock: The final report to DEFRA by Eunomia Consulting entitled "Modelling the Impact of Household Charging for Waste in England" reviewed a range of research including on the social impacts of charging for the collection of household waste.
	The Government's Impact Assessment for powers to pilot local authority incentives for household waste minimisation and recycling also drew on a range of research on amounts of waste produced by households of different sizes, and income data for households of different sizes.

Waste Management

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many individuals have been issued with fixed penalty notices for breaching  (a) no side and  (b) closed lid waste collection policies since such notices were introduced.

Joan Ruddock: Powers for local authorities to issue fixed penalty notices for offences relating to waste receptacles were introduced in April 2006. In 2006-07 local authorities in England issued 988 fixed penalty notices for offences of this nature. Data for 2007-08 will be available later this year. DEFRA does not collect information that would enable a breakdown of these figures to identify the numbers of fixed penalty notices issued specifically for breaches of side waste or closed lid collection policies.

Waste Management

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what initial assessment he has made of the effects of site waste management plans on waste management practices.

Joan Ruddock: Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs) were first introduced as a voluntary code of practice in July 2004. The latest assessment of their effects was produced by DEFRA by the Building Research Establishment. This was published on the Construction Waste page of DEFRA's website in February 2008.
	New regulations became effective on 6 April 2008 and make SWMPs mandatory for construction projects exceeding a £300,000 project cost. An assessment of their effects will be made within three years of this date.

Whales: Iceland

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions the Prime Minister had with the Prime Minister of Iceland on 24 April on the resumption of commercial whaling by Iceland; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 12 May 2008
	I did not attend the meeting on 24 April. However, at this meeting my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister reiterated the UK's strong opposition to whaling. The Prime Minister of Iceland was left in no doubt as to the strength of feeling in the UK on the issue.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

BAE Systems

Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what meetings  (a) he and  (b) Ministers in his Department have had with legal representatives of BAE Systems since 10 April 2008.

Malcolm Wicks: Neither my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State nor his ministerial team have met with BAE Systems lawyers.

Berkeley Power Station

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what consideration he has given to options for future uses of the former Berkeley Nuclear Laboratories site, Gloucestershire; and which organisations have been commissioned by his Department to undertake evaluation of those options.

Malcolm Wicks: I understand the question to refer to the Berkeley Centre, which is a de-licensed part of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's Berkeley site. The NDA have appointed King Sturge to market the Berkeley Centre site.

Construction: Cartels

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform under what legislation construction industry cartels are prohibited; what prosecutions have been undertaken in cases where legal proceedings have been completed against  (a) individuals and  (b) companies for acting as a cartel in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: Cartels are prohibited under the Competition Act 1998 and the Enterprise Act 2002 allows for prosecutions against individuals involved in cases acting in a cartel. There have been no prosecutions of individuals in the last five years, however three individuals have recently been charged and are awaiting a court hearing in respect of a cartel involving marine hoses and ancillary equipment. As the criminal cartel offence applies only to individuals, no company has been prosecuted. However, 13 decisions in civil proceedings have been made against 166 companies in relation to breaches of the Chapter 1 prohibition of the Competition Act 1998 (anti-competitive agreements) since 2003.

Construction: Cartels

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what his policy is on offering rewards to members of the public for information about alleged illegal cartels in the construction industry; what legislation governs this; how many calls the cartels hotline has received; and how many  (a) prosecutions and  (b) convictions resulted from information provided in such calls in each year since the hotline's inception.

Gareth Thomas: On 29 February 2008, the OFT announced a policy under which it will pay financial rewards of up to £100,000 in return for information which helps it to identify and take action against illegal cartels. Rewards will be paid only where information is accurate, verifiable and proves to be useful in the OFT's anti-cartel enforcement work. Any reward is calculated according to a set formula and not subject to negotiation. This policy will run for an initial period of 18 months, after which a decision will be made whether this should be a permanent arrangement. This is an extra-statutory policy and applies to all industries, including but not limited to the construction industry. The OFT announcement can be found a the following web link:
	www.oft.gov.uk/news/press/2008/31-08
	The OFT has recorded 227 calls on its cartel hotline since 2001. To date none of these calls have resulted in a prosecution or conviction, although the material of some calls is the subject of on going investigations.

Construction: Cartels

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many construction firms were  (a) investigated and  (b) prosecuted for (i) bid rigging and (ii) cover pricing in each of the last 10 years for which information is available.

Gareth Thomas: 31 roofing contractors were investigated and fined by the OFT for bid rigging, which also included the practice of cover pricing. A further 112 construction firms are the subject of a current OFT investigation into bid rigging including the practice of cover pricing. No infringement decisions or fines have yet been issued as each firm under investigation has recently been issued with a Statement of Objection which sets out the OFT's formal allegations and evidence. Each firm has been given the opportunity to respond to the Statement.
	The OFT received evidence of cover pricing implicating many more companies on thousands of tender processes, but has focused its investigation on approximately 240 alleged infringements which are being pursued in the Statement of Objections. The OFT has used objective selection criteria in order to focus the investigation, based on evidence received up to the point when it closed the door to further leniency applications, including the number of times a company was discovered allegedly to have infringed the Competition Act 1998.

Construction: Contracts

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what legislation regulates competitive tendering in the construction industry; what changes have been made to it since enactment; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: There is no legislation which specifically regulates competitive tendering in the construction industry. Construction is covered by generic procurement and competition legislation. In terms of procurement, construction is regulated by the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (Statutory Instrument 2006 No 5) which implements the EU public procurement directive. A further set of rules (Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006—SI 2006 No 6) applies to relevant operators (both public and private) in the utilities sector when they wish to procure works or services. For projects above certain financial thresholds, these set out procedures to be followed in setting out specifications, selection of candidates and the award of the contract. They are intended to enforce the EC treaty principles of transparency and free movement of goods and services.

Construction: Fines

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on which occasions the Office of Fair Trading imposed penalties on construction companies in each of the last five years; what penalty was imposed; on which company each was imposed; for what reasons each was imposed; to what purpose the fines received have been put; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: 31 roofing contractors have been fined in respect of bid rigging, in breach of Chapter 1 of the Competition Act 1998. The following table shows those companies concerned and the specific level of fine imposed. The level of fines imposed include any reduction for leniency, in accordance with the OFT's penalties guidance whereby reductions, or in certain circumstances complete immunity from fines are available in return for significant cooperation with the OFT's investigation. Total fines imposed amounted to £2,555,547 and were paid into the Consolidated Fund for use by HM Treasury to their own policy objectives.
	
		
			  Party  Total fine (£) 
			 Advanced Roofing Systems Ltd 1,963 
			 Anglo Asphalt Company Ltd 2,005 
			 Apex Asphalt and Paving Co. Ltd 35,922 
			 Asphaltic Contracts Ltd 22,255 
			 Bonnington Contracts 45,187 
			 Briggs Cladding and Roofing Ltd nil 
			 Brindley Asphalt Ltd 55,540 
			 Cambridge Asphalte Company Ltd 53,774 
			 Coverite Ltd 104,498 
			 Dufell Roofing Company Ltd 74,642 
			 Durable Contracts Ltd 47,221 
			 Geo. Brolley and Co. (Roofing) Ltd 22,239 
			 Hogdson and Allon Ltd 74,151 
			 Holme Asphalt 6,453 
			 Howard Evans (Roofing) Ltd 35,510 
			 Kelsey Roofing Industries Ltd 47,700 
			 Lenaghen Roofing Services Ltd 19,245 
			 McKay Roofing Ltd 27,219 
			 Makers UK Ltd 526,500 
			 Mitrepoint Ltd 262,000 
			 Pirie (inc. Pirie Ltd, Pirie Group Ltd and Pirie and Co (Paisley) Ltd) 54,727 
			 Prater Ltd 270,432 
			 Redbrook Mastic Asphalt and Felt Roofing Ltd 17,802 
			 Richard W Price (Roofing Contractors) Ltd 9,000 
			 Rio Asphalt and Paving Co. Ltd 54,135 
			 Rock Asphalte 511,351 
			 Single Ply Roofing Systems Ltd 12,554 
			 Solihull Roofing and Building Co Ltd 26,606 
			 The General Asphalte Company Ltd 63,192 
			 W G Walker and Company (Ayr) Ltd 59,185

Consumer Direct: Finance

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the budgeted operating cost for Consumer Direct will be in  (a) 2009-10,  (b) 2010-11 and  (c) 2011-12.

Gareth Thomas: The budget has not been set. The OFT works on a year-by-year basis and the figure for 2009-10 will not be determined until later this financial year.

Departmental NDPBs

David Curry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many people were serving on the boards of the non-departmental public bodies which his Department sponsors at the latest date for which figures are available.

Gareth Thomas: holding answer 7 May 2008
	The Cabinet Office publication Public bodies 2007 lists the number of people serving on the boards of public bodies as at 31 March 2007. These figures are broken down by individual Departments. The figure for the Department is 864. Public bodies 2007 can be downloaded from
	www.civi1service.gov.uk/about/public/bodies.asp.
	Copies are also available in the Library of the House.

Disabled

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what targets his Department has set in relation to its employment of people with disabilities over the next five years.

Gareth Thomas: Departmental targets relating to the employment of people with disabilities, to be achieved by April 2008, are as follows:
	
		
			  Progress towards numerical targets 
			 1 April 2008  10 point plan target  BERR target 
			   10 point plan target (%)  BERR target (%)  Number minority staff  Number of staff at Band  Current %age  Number of staff required to meet target  Difference  Number of staff required to meet target  Difference 
			 SCS Disabled 3.2 4.7 8 176 5 6 +2 (exceeded) 8 0 (exceeded percentage) 
			 Band C disabled None set None set 59 1,014 6 — — — — 
		
	
	10 Point Plan for a Diverse Civil Service, published in November 2005, set a target that 3.2 per cent. of Senior Civil Service (SCS) posts are to be filled by disabled people by April 2008. Final measurements of achievement against this target will be available by October 2008.
	The Department is in the process of agreeing a Diversity Strategy for the period April 2008 to March 2011. An appropriate target for the representation of people with disabilities is currently under consideration.
	13 per cent. of staff responding to the November 2007 Staff Opinion Survey reported that they had a disability or long term health condition.

Energy Supply

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent discussions he has had with National Grid on the supply of electricity in the UK during summer months.

Malcolm Wicks: BERR officials met National Grid on 9 April 2008 to discuss its Summer Outlook Report 2008, which covers the supply of electricity during the summer months.
	The Summer Outlook Report was launched on 15 April 2008 and can be accessed via the following link:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Pages/MoreInformation.aspx@docid=1&refer=Markets/WhlMkts/CustandIndustry/Outlook.

Energy: Housing

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what plans he has to assist low income households with the rising costs of fuel for heating.

Malcolm Wicks: We are concerned about the impact of higher prices on vulnerable people and we continue to encourage energy suppliers to adopt initiatives to restrict price rises for the most vulnerable.
	In Budget 2008, the Government said they would like to see the amount energy suppliers spend on social programmes increase to at least £150 million a year over the period ahead. A new voluntary agreement has recently been signed individually with the six major energy suppliers to treble their individual investment on social programmes in the next three years, reaching collective investment of £150 million by 2010-11. This will take spend to £100 million in 2008-09, £125 million in 2009-10 and £150 million in 2010-11.
	In addition, winter fuel payments helped keep 11.7 million people warm in winter 2006-07 and Budget 2008 announced an additional one-off payment of £100 to over-80s households and £50 to over-60s households in 2008-09.

Energy: Meters

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  what research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) funded on the interoperability of communication platforms for the introduction of smart meters;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with suppliers of  (a) energy and  (b) water smart meters to co-ordinate their provision of services to households.

Malcolm Wicks: My Department's draft Impact Assessment recognises the role that providing smart metering to gas and electricity customers could play in facilitating wider policy goals, including water conservation. The scope for providing additional services, including water metering, is among the issues we shall explore as we refine our Impact Assessment with interested parties over the coming months. Last year, my Department commissioned economic analysis of a range of issues associated with smart metering, including interoperability and telecommunications. This analysis, by Mott MacDonald, has now been published, and has also informed our Impact Assessment. We will undertake more analysis over the coming months.
	In the meantime, powers have been included in the Energy Bill to enable the Secretary of State to modify relevant gas and electricity licences to require the provision and installation, or facilitate the provision and installation of, smart meters. These powers will enable a roll out of advanced meters to medium sized businesses in the first instance (as announced in 2008 Budget). Subject to further ongoing analysis these powers would enable us to move forward with a roll out to small businesses and domestic consumers when we have the information to make these decisions.

Energy: Meters

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent discussions he has had with  (a) the Local Government Association,  (b) energy suppliers,  (c) housing developers and  (d) major energy users on the introduction of smart meters.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has held discussions with a range of interested parties over about smart meters. The Office of Government Commerce has been in discussion with local authorities as part of its work to promote the provision of advanced metering in public buildings operated by both central and local government. The Government's consultation on metering and billing was open to all groups, including large energy users. The largest energy users will, however, already use half-hourly electricity, or daily-read gas, meters. Over 200,000 larger sites below these categories will receive advanced meters under the proposals that were confirmed in the Budget 2008.
	In the meantime, powers have been included in the Energy Bill to enable the Secretary of State to modify relevant gas and electricity licences to require the provision and installation, or facilitate the provision and installation of, smart meters. These powers will enable a roll out of advanced meters to medium sized businesses in the first instance (as announced in 2008 Budget). Subject to further ongoing analysis these powers would enable us to move forward with a roll out to small businesses and domestic consumers when we have the information to make these decisions.

Energy: Meters

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to his oral statement of 30 April 2008,  Official Report, column 333, if he will place in the Library a copy of the study undertaken on behalf of his Department by Mott MacDonald on the costs and benefits of smart metering.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 8 May 2008
	A copy of the report by Mott MacDonald, "Appraisal Costs and Benefits of Smart Meter Roll Out Options", has been placed in the Library. The report is also available on the BERR website at:
	www.berr.gov.uk/files/file45997.pdf

Energy: Skilled Workers

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the UK has enough skilled people to work in the  (a) nuclear waste industries and  (b) the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 May 2008,  Official Report, column 874W.

Fuels: Prices

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of  (a) the average household fuel bill and  (b) the average household fuel bill as a proportion of household income in the latest period for which figures are available, broken down by region.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 9 May 2008
	Estimates for this response are based on data collected through the Expenditure and Food Survey. The average household fuel bill and average disposable income are available in the Family Spending 2007 publication, available online at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_social/Family_Spending_200607/FamilySpending2007_web.pdf
	This shows detailed household expenditure by UK countries and Government office regions in 2006 and the following has been derived from table A37 and A44.
	
		
			  Government office region  Average annual  fuel bill (£)  Annual fuel bill as a percentage of disposable income 
			 United Kingdom 826.30 3.0 
			 North East 750.60 3.5 
			 North West 814.30 3.5 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 810.30 3.3 
			 East Midlands 775.80 3.0 
			 West Midlands 827.50 3.3 
			 East 847.90 3.1 
			 London 751.70 2.2 
			 South East 830.10 2.6 
			 South West 803.50 3.0 
			 England 805.00 2.9 
			 Wales 868.20 3.7 
			 Scotland 895.80 3.4 
			 Northern Ireland 1,211.10 4.9

Furniture: Standards

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many incidents of sales of dangerous and substandard furniture have been investigated by the Scambuster pilots since 2006.

Gareth Thomas: The Scambuster pilots have investigated two incidents of alleged dangerous or substandard furniture. 161 pieces of furniture were seized as a result of investigations although those tested complied with the Furniture and Furnishing (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1998. A further sample of cushions failed the Regulations.

Internet: Data Protection

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will bring forward legislative proposals to prohibit the re-publication without the subject's permission of images of persons posted on social networking sites; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 21 April 2008
	The use of computerised personal information in the United Kingdom is regulated by the Data Protection Act 1998. The Information Commissioner who administers and enforces the Act independently of the Government. The Act does not prohibit the dissemination of personal data to third parties, including via the internet, but it regulates the circumstances in which this can take place through a code of enforceable good practice principles. Among other things, they require personal data to be processed fairly and lawfully, obtained only for specified and lawful purposes, and not further processed incompatibly with those purposes.
	Any directly affected person may ask the Information Commissioner to assess whether it is likely or unlikely that any processing of personal data has been or is being earned out in compliance with the Act. If the Commissioner concludes that any of the Act's principles are being breached, it is open to him to take enforcement action against the organisation concerned.

Manufactured Goods: Production

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the report by the Office for National Statistics into the volume of output in the UK's production industries in the first quarter of 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 6 May 2008
	According to the ONS, seasonally adjusted production sector output fell by 0.1 per cent. in the first quarter of 2008 compared to the last quarter of 2007. Manufacturing sector output grew 0.5 per cent. in 2008 Q1—up on the previous quarter's growth in the sector, and the highest quarterly volume of manufacturing output since the first quarter of 2001—but this was offset by falls on the quarter in mining and quarrying output, and electricity, gas and water supply output. However, the figures for 2008 Q1 are preliminary estimates, subject to revision as more information becomes available.
	Total production output was 0.7 per cent. higher in the first quarter of 2008 compared to the corresponding quarter in the previous year. Within the total production sector, both manufacturing and electricity, gas and water output increased in the year to the first quarter of 2008, by 1.2 per cent. and 1.7 per cent. respectively, while mining and quarrying output fell by 5.1 per cent. over the same period.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he expects the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, dated 19 March 2008, on online privacy.

Gareth Thomas: holding answer 29 April 2008
	I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member. A reply will be issued shortly.

Mobile Phones

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what representations his Department has received from mobile network operators on mobile number portability.

Malcolm Wicks: All the mobile phone network operators meet with BERR officials and Ministers on a regular basis to discuss all types of mobile phone related issues. I am aware that some operators are not comfortable with the arrangements concerning mobile number portability, clearly these matters are commercially sensitive and we are not able to comment on company specific policy.

Mobile Phones

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of whether UKPorting will meet the September 2009 deadline set by Ofcom to ensure that the time taken to move a telephone number between mobile telephone operators is reduced to two hours.

Malcolm Wicks: At present we have not made our own assessment on whether the deadline set by Ofcom to ensure that the time taken to move a telephone number between mobile telephone operators is reduced to two hours will be met. Pending an ongoing Competition Appeals Tribunal investigation into this issue on 18 June 2008, it would be inappropriate to provide any comment until after that appeal has been heard.

Motor Vehicles: Fuels

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of ultracapacitors as a power source for road vehicles.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has made no assessment of the effectiveness of ultracapacitors as a power source for road vehicles. However, a pre-competitive research project on development of super capacitors as a means of energy storage for hybrid vehicles, entitled 'SuperC', was funded as part of the Foresight Vehicle programme, and concluded in 2002. Details of the project can be found on the Department for Transport website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/rmd/proiect.asp?intProjectID-7978.
	It is now for project partners to seek commercial applications for any resulting technologies.

Nuclear Power

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 2 April 2008,  Official Report, column 1078W, on nuclear power, from which elements and components the 10 per cent. discount rate is derived; and what value is assigned to each.

Malcolm Wicks: The choice of a 10 per cent. discount rate was based on its use in a number of studies of costs across nuclear and other electricity generation technologies by the International Energy Agency and other organisations. The rate has not been disaggregated in any way into component parts. Sensitivity analysis was, however, carried out to observe the impact of using both higher and lower discount rates.

Office of Fair Trading

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what  (a) primary and  (b) secondary legislation governs the powers of the Office of Fair Trading; what changes have been made to each since their entry into force; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The primary legislation that governs the Office of Fair Trading's (OFT) powers in relation to competition law and enforcement are:
	(i) The Competition Act 1998 ("the Act"). The OFT is responsible for enforcing the prohibitions contained in the Act which outlaw anti-competitive agreements and abuses of a dominant position within a market. The Act also empowers the OFT to obtain information, enter premises to conduct investigations, make interim and final decisions and impose financial penalties.
	(ii) The Enterprise Act 2002 provides the OFT with powers in relation to the regulatory control of mergers, market investigations and to the enforcement of the cartel offence and certain consumer legislation.
	Further powers given to the OFT under secondary legislation are:
	(i) Competition Act 1998 (Office of Fair Trading Rules) Order 2004 which outlines the procedural rules followed by OFT in carrying out investigations under the Competition Act 1998.
	(ii) EC Regulation 1/2003, which came into force May 2004, gives the OFT the power to enforce the prohibitions against anti-competitive agreements and abuses of a dominant position which may affect trade between EU member states. This regulation is about the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 and 82 of the treaty of Rome.

Press

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many press office staff were employed by  (a) his Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) its non-departmental public bodies (i) in each year since 1996-97 and (ii) at the latest date for which information is available.

Gareth Thomas: The information requested is as follows
	
		
			  FTE staff employed in the BERR and UKTI press offices 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 BERR(1) 20 17 24 25 23 23 23 19 18 17 16 
			 UK Trade and Investment(2) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 4 3-4 3 2-3 2-4 
			 (1) The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) was created in July 2007. Figures before July 2007 refer to the number of press officers in the Department for Trade and Industry. (2) UKTI was formed in October 2003. Fluctuations in the above staff numbers are due to staff movements during the year. 
		
	
	
		
			  FTE staff employed in BERR NDPB press offices 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 ACAS(1) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 
			 Atomic Energy Authority(2) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 
			 Civil Nuclear Police Authority(3) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1 1.5 1.5 
			 Coal Authority(4) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Competition Commission 1 1 1 1 1.5 1.5 1.5 2 2 2 2 
			 Competition Service(5) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 EnergyWatch(6) n/a n/a n/a n/a 7 7 7 7 4.5 4 4 
			 Hearing Aid Council(7) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 National Consumer Council 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 
			 Nuclear Decommissioning Authority(8) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 PostWatch(9) n/a n/a n/a n/a 2 4 4 4 4 4 n/a 
			 SITPRO Ltd(10) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 (1) Since 1996/1997 ACAS has employed two permanent communications professionals to carry out its media and marketing activity. Neither is a full-time press officer, but both combine press duties as part of their overall role. This includes operating an out-of-hours service for the media. The press office staff at ACAS also carry out other communications responsibilities besides press office work. (2) The UK Atomic Energy Authority does not employ dedicated press officers. Five members of staff in the UKAEA have media relations as part, but not all, of their duties. The FTE equivalent is provided as an estimate of the proportion of UKAEA communications team members' time available to cover press officer functions. (3) The Civil Nuclear Constabulary was set up as a separate entity in 2005. (4 )The Coal Authority does not have a press office. (5) The Competition Service does not have a press office. (6) EnergyWatch, was set up in 2001. (7) The Hearing Aid Council does not have a press office. (8) The National Decommissioning Authority does not have a press office. Three communications managers are employed to undertake a variety of activities of which handling media enquiries is one element. A head of communications and communications director may also handle media inquiries. (9) PostWatch was set up in 2001. (10) SITPRO Ltd employs only one member of staff for marketing and promotion, whose responsibilities include some dealings with the press. 
		
	
	
		
			  FTE staff employed in RDA press offices 
			   1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 AWM(1) n/a 1 1 3 4 4 4 4 
			 EEDA 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 3 
			 EMDA 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 
			 LDA(2) n/a n/a n/a 3 3 5.5 6 6 
			 NWDA(3) 2 4 5 6 6 9 7 6 
			 ONE n/a 3 3 3 4 3 5 6 
			 SEEDA(4) 1 1 2 2.5 5 5 5.5 5.5 
			 SWRDA n/a n/a 3 3 4 5 5 5.5 
			 YF 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 
			 (1) AWM payroll information for 1999-2000 is in archive and it is not possible to determine the number of FTE staff fulfilling the press office function for that year. (2) LDA was not set up until 2000-01. Payroll information for 1999-2000 is in archive and it is not possible to determine the number of FTE staff fulfilling the press office function for that year. (3) NWDA figures reflect the total number of staff who carried out a press office function as part of their duties during the financial year (they did not carry out these duties for the full financial year in all cases, or all at the same time). (4) SEEDA does not employ dedicated press officers. This function is carried out as part of the duties of the SEEDA communications team. The FTE equivalent is provided as an estimate of the proportion of SEEDA communications team members' time available to cover press officer functions.

Renewable Energy: Standards

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether targets for renewable energy usage for the United Kingdom take account of regional variations.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 7 May 2008
	 The European Commission's proposed target of 15 per cent. renewable energy in the UK by 2020 does not specify where in the UK renewables should be located. The Government will consult over the summer on what more we should do to increase renewable energy use to meet the UK's share of the target.

Sales Methods: Unfair Practices

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps the Government plans to take to tackle unfair sales practices.

Gareth Thomas: holding answer 7 May 2008
	 The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, which come into force on 26 May, prohibit traders in all sectors from engaging in unfair marketing and selling practices with consumers. In particular, the regulations prohibit misleading and aggressive practices and ban 31 specific practices outright. The regulations will put in place a more comprehensive framework for tackling sharp practices and rogue traders harming consumers' economic interests.

Seychelles

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many officials in his Department and its predecessor visited the Seychelles on official business in 2007, broken down by grade; and what the equivalent number was in  (a) 1983,  (b) 1987 and  (c) each year between 1998 and 2005.

Gareth Thomas: No official in BERR or its predecessor Department has visited Seychelles on official business for many years. No records are available for 1983 and 1987.

Smoking

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many smoking shelters were built at each of his Department's London buildings in each of the last five years.

Gareth Thomas: The Department has not built any smoking shelters at its London buildings over the last five years.

Stichling Hahn Hilbrich

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the  (a) purpose and  (b) value was of each (i) contract and (ii) transaction between his Department and Stichling Hahn Hilbrich in each of the last five years; and on what date each such (A) contract was signed and (B) transaction took place.

Gareth Thomas: Central records indicate that no payments have been made to Stichling Hahn Hilbrich in any of the last five years.

Sustainability Live

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what  (a) ministerial and  (b) official representation his Department plans to have at the environmental trade show Sustainability Live on 20 to 22 May.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department recognises the opportunities for business presented by the environmental trade show Sustainability Live. UK Trade and Investment's Meet the Buyer event at the show will bring 33 overseas buyers from 10 markets.
	Although no Ministers will be available on this occasion, both BERR and UK Trade and Investment officials, including overseas commercial officers, will be promoting environmental opportunities and solutions to climate change.

Trade Competitiveness: Heathrow Airport

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the impact of the performance of Heathrow airport on UK competitiveness.

Gareth Thomas: My officials have regular discussions with officials in Department for Transport about the operation and future development of UK airports, including Heathrow airport.

Venture Capital: Females

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what funding his Department is providing to support women's venture capital initiatives in 2008-09; and what steps he is taking to increase access to venture capital for women's enterprise.

Gareth Thomas: Enterprise Capital Funds (ECFs) are the Government's principal equity fund intervention and are available to a diverse range of businesses, including women-owned and women-led businesses. In addition, the Government made a commitment in their recent Enterprise Strategy to provide £12.5 million of capital to set up a fund to invest equity finance primarily in women-led businesses, with the aim of securing up to a total of £25 million of investment by working in partnership with the private sector. Capital for Enterprise Limited, which manages the Department's venture capital and loan activity, has been tasked with designing the fund and will invite proposals in the summer.
	The fund is an integral part of a strong package of measures on women's enterprise announced recently in the Government's Enterprise Strategy. Those measures include provision for women's business centre pilots; enhanced mentoring support; a new national enterprise centre of expertise; a media campaign and activity aimed at opening up procurement opportunities to women-owned businesses. More information on the Strategy is available at:
	www.berr.gov.uk/enterprisestrategy

Wind Power: Thames Estuary

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he was informed that Shell would be withdrawing from the London Array wind farm project.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 8 May 2008
	The composition of the London Array Consortium is a commercial matter for the parties involved. A number of successful offshore wind projects have changed ownership in the past, and we would therefore anticipate that the London Array project should be able to proceed. The Secretary of State was informed in confidence that Shell were re-considering their involvement in the London Array project a short time before their public statement. As Shell made clear in their announcement, the decision was a commercial matter and not related to the availability of Government support.

Wind Power: Thames Estuary

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what representations he has received from participants in the London Array wind farm project on  (a) the operation of the renewable obligation certificates system and  (b) the Government's proposed changes to the system.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 8 May 2008
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and his officials meet regularly with representatives from the offshore wind industry including members of the London Array consortium. These meetings are to discuss a range of issues surrounding the increased deployment of renewable generation in the UK, including planning, grid connection and changes to the Renewables Obligation (RO).
	In addition the Government received 174 responses to the consultation on the reform of the RO which closed on 6 September 2007. This includes responses from members of the London Array consortium. Copies of all responses, except those who have requested confidentiality, can be found at:
	www.berr.gov.uk/energy/sources/renewables/policy/renewables-obligation/keystages/banding-ro/page42154

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Africa: Malaria

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his most recent estimate is of the incidence of malaria in Africa; and what steps  (a) the UK and  (b) international organisations plan to take to combat the disease.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 9( th) May 2008
	According to the latest estimates there are up to 500 million cases of malaria globally, and at least one million deaths annually. Around 90 per cent. of these deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa, mostly in young children. The UK Government's support for malaria control is provided through international organisations and partnerships, bilateral programmes and research.
	In April the Prime Minister announced that the UK will provide 20 million insecticide treated bed nets which are vital for preventing malaria. This is one of the first pledges made to "Cover The Bed Net Gap" launched by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership (RBMP) to rally donor countries, multilateral institutions, the private sector, and the general public to achieve the goal of universal bed net coverage by 2010. This new RBMP initiative is a direct response to the UN Secretary-General's call for universal coverage of malaria control in Africa by the end of 2010 to mark World Malaria Day on 25 April 2008.
	The UK Government, through the Department for International Development (DFID) have committed £1 billion by 2015 to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. To date the fund has disbursed US$ 5.5 billion; 25 per cent. of which goes to malaria programmes. DFID also provides funding contributions to the WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank's International Development Association as well as the RBMP which plays a central role in helping countries develop and secure finance for national malaria plans. DFID supported UNITAID, the international drug purchase facility, with €20 million in 2007 to purchase drugs for anti-malarial treatments as well as for TB and HIV/AIDS. Our contribution will rise to €60 million by 2010. DFID has also contributed over £16 million for new drug development to the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDI) and the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV).

Burma: Storms

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid and assistance the Government have made available to Burma following the recent cyclone.

Douglas Alexander: The UK made an initial pledge of £5 million for the immediate relief effort following Cyclone Nargis and stands ready to contribute much more. These funds will be used to help meet urgent humanitarian needs and will be channelled through UN agencies, the Red Cross and NGOs delivering assistance on the ground. This contribution will be in addition to the UK's long-term humanitarian programme inside Burma.
	We have readied our stockpile of emergency supplies including tents, water containers, blankets, and plastics sheets. And we have sourced additional logistic equipment and other relief items. The first airlift of these materials has departed.
	A DFID team of emergency response experts arrived in Burma on weekend of 10/11 May, to support the DFID Burma Office and help to maximise the impact of DFID emergency funding.

Burma: Storms

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he plans to give additional aid to Burma following the recent cyclones.

Douglas Alexander: The UK made an initial pledge of £5 million for the immediate relief effort following Cyclone Nargis and stands ready to contribute much more. These funds will be used to help meet urgent humanitarian needs and will be channelled through UN agencies, the Red Cross and NGOs delivering assistance on the ground. This contribution will be in addition to the UK's long-term humanitarian programme inside Burma.
	We have readied our stockpile of emergency supplies including tents, water containers, blankets, and plastics sheets. And we have sourced additional logistic equipment and other relief items. The first airlift of these materials has departed.
	A Department for International Development (DFID) team of emergency response experts arrived in Burma on weekend of 10/11 May, to support the DFID Burma Office and help to maximise the impact of DFID emergency funding.

Departmental Equality

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department met the civil service diversity targets set out on page 51 of Cabinet Office annual report 2007 by April 2008.

Gillian Merron: The latest published statistics against overall civil service targets were at October 2007, and are available on the civil service website at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/diversity/monitoring.asp
	The final measurement against the target will be published in autumn 2008.

Departmental Internet

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent on the most recent redesign and implementation of his departmental website.

Gillian Merron: The Department for International Development (DFID) website was last redesigned in 2004. This work was largely carried out by DFID staff as part of a wider range of responsibilities. It is not possible to disaggregate the costs of the project from day-to-day publishing and IT support for the website.

Developing Countries: Children

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the United Nations Children's Fund report, "Our climate, our children, our responsibility;" and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Department for International Development (DFID) welcomes the recent UNICEF UK report "Our climate, our children, our responsibility" as a valuable contribution to the growing evidence base on the social impacts of climate change, and in particular the impacts on children. Climate change will most affect developing countries, and the poorest and most vulnerable in those societies, including children. This report further underlines the need for the international community to act urgently, both to mitigate the causes of climate change and to support developing countries to adapt to its impacts.

Developing Countries: Children

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in respect of the world's poorest children.

Gillian Merron: The UK Government have committed £8.5 billion for education in developing countries over the 10 years to 2015-16. During the French President Sarkozy's recent visit to London, the UK and France agreed to each help support eight million children in school by 2010.
	The UK Government commitment also include £150 million for children affected by HIV/AIDS (2004-07), over £10 million for addressing forced labour and child labour and over £16 million to combat trafficking of women and children.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) supports children and young people through direct funding to non-governmental organisations, this includes £3.1 million to Plan UK for the period 2007-11 and £20.7 million to Save the Children for the period 2005-11. DFID has committed £7 million over the period 2006-09 to the 'Young Lives project', which is a 15-year study of child poverty in four countries.
	The UK Government's work to enhance economic growth and to address inequality in developing countries also benefits the world's poorest children.

Developing Countries: HIV Infection

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department plans to spend on combating HIV/AIDS in developing countries in each year from 2007-08 to 2009-10.

Gillian Merron: The Department for International Development (DFID) has set out its overall country level spending plans for the next three years in its Annual Report which was published on 8 May (for more information see http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/departmental-report/2008/default.asp). These spending plans have been developed as part of an overall planning framework to ensure delivery of the 2008-11 public service agreement on International Poverty Reduction and the underlying DFID Departmental Strategic Objectives.
	The UK remains committed to fighting HIV and AIDS in developing countries and has already made an unprecedented long-term commitment to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria of up to £1 billion over 2008-15. More details on DFID's approach to tackling HIV and AIDS will be set out in an updated strategy due to be launched in the near future.

Developing Countries: Overseas Aid

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development for which  (a) countries and  (b) regions his Department will be developing new country assistance plans in 2008 and 2009; and what arrangements he plans to make for consultation on these plans.

Douglas Alexander: The following country and regional plans have been or are currently scheduled to be submitted for agreement during 2008 and 2009: Vietnam, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Caribbean, Kenya, Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen, Palestine, Nepal, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe. For many of these countries, consultations have already been undertaken or are taking place.
	When country and regional plans are being prepared, my Department follows Cabinet Office guidance on consultation processes, including a 12-week public consultation publicised on the Department for International Development (DFID) external website. In addition to discussions with partner governments, in-country and external consultation takes place with other donors, civil society, NGOs and the private sector, and with other UK Government Departments.

Developing Countries: Overseas Aid

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he plans to publish the final country assistance plans for  (a) countries and  (b) regions adopted following recent consultations.

Douglas Alexander: The country and regional planning process was revised in March 2008. Country and regional plans approved by me will continue to be published on DFID's external website and in hard copy. Future country and regional plans will appear as shorter documents, showing more clearly the link between the UK Government's investment and development needs, where and how funds will be spent and accounted for, and the outcomes expected as a result of our investment. The timetable for doing so will normally be not more than 12 weeks following approval of a country or regional plan.

Mozambique: Overseas Aid

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much financial aid the Government gave to Mozambique in 2007.

Shahid Malik: In 2006-07, total UK bilateral expenditure in Mozambique was £56.3 million, of which, £46.8 million was delivered as financial aid. Data for 2007-08 will be published later this year in the next edition of Statistics in International Development.
	The UK's imputed share of multilateral official development assistance to Mozambique in 2006-07 was £25.7 million.

Pakistan: Overseas Aid

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has spent on aid to  (a) Pakistan and  (b) India in each year since 2000.

Shahid Malik: Details of the Department for International Development's (DFID) bilateral assistance and imputed multilateral assistance to India and Pakistan since 2000 are laid out in the following tables:
	
		
			  Table 1: Total DFID Bilateral Expenditure ,  2000-01 to 2006-07 
			  £000 
			   India  Pakistan 
			 2000-01 114,814 14,587 
			 2001-02 179,021 43,198 
			 2002-03 154,742 38,314 
			 2003-04 196,897 66,240 
			 2004-05 257,649 31,377 
			 2005-06 252,759 97,413 
			 2006-07 233,857 101,118 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Imputed DFID Share of Multilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA), 2000-01 to 2006-07 
			  £000 
			   India  Pakistan 
			 2000-01 71,671 3,026 
			 2001-02 21,590 24,971 
			 2002-03 57,736 39,233 
			 2003-04 16,199 14,208 
			 2004-05 21,011 13,742 
			 2005-06 36,913 55,951 
			 2006-07 80,842 20,803

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 25 April 2008,  Official Report, column 2325W, on Palestinians: overseas aid, what detailed criteria will be applied in making decisions about further UK disbursements; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: As with every country programme of the Department for International Development (DFID), our aid is given on the basis of need and a shared commitment to poverty reduction.
	The Palestinian reform and development plan was the basis for all the $7.7 billion donor pledges at the Paris pledging conference. The UK pledge of £243 million is linked to tangible progress in peace negotiations, including progress on reform and the easing of movement and access restrictions.
	UK aid helps the Palestinian Authority fulfil its commitments to the peace process, deliver institutional reform, provide essential services that benefit the poor and vulnerable, and ensure a better security environment.

Taylor Nelson Sofres

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the value of contracts awarded to Taylor Nelson Sofres by his Department was in each year since 1997.

Shahid Malik: The value of contracts awarded to Taylor Nelson Sofres by the Department for International Development (DFID) in each year since 1997 is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2002-03 66,039 
			 2007-08 60,840

Zimbabwe: Overseas Aid

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much UK aid was delivered to Zimbabwe in each of the last five years.

Shahid Malik: Details on UK aid to Zimbabwe over the last five years are shown in the following tables. Since 2003, none of our aid funding has been given through the Government of Zimbabwe but has been directed instead through the United Nations and non-governmental organisations.
	
		
			  Table 1: UK Total Bilateral Gross Public Expenditure (GPEX) on Development to Zimbabwe, 2002-03 to 2006-07 
			  £000 
			   Total GPEX 
			 2002-03 29,926 
			 2003-04 34,167 
			 2004-05 25,854 
			 2005-06 34,121 
			 2006-07 32,960 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Imputed UK Share of Multilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA), 2002-03 to 2006-07 
			  £000 
			   Zimbabwe 
			 2002-03 4,496 
			 2003-04 1,929 
			 2004-05 3,522 
			 2005-06 5,106 
			 2006-07 6,145

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

UK-Israeli Relations

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on UK-Israeli relations on the 60(th) anniversary of the state of Israel.

David Miliband: I wish to add my congratulations to the state of Israel on its 60(th) anniversary, and its remarkable achievements in politics, business, arts and science. We enjoy a close bilateral relationship. We seek to use our position as a friend of both Israel and the Palestinians to help make progress towards a two state solution, allowing both peoples to live in peace.

Iranian Nuclear Programme

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Iranian nuclear programme.

David Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Clwyd, West (Mr. Jones) today.

EU Foreign Policy

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his French counterpart on EU foreign policy.

Jim Murphy: The UK Government have regular contact and discussions with the French Government on EU and other foreign policy issues. Our recent discussions have included exchanges of views on Burma, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Kosovo, Iran and Georgia.

Middle East

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of progress in the Middle East peace process; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The obstacles to peace are huge, but the talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, under way as part of the Annapolis process, offer the best hope for years of making progress. We, with our international partners, are doing all we can to support this process. On 2 May we co-hosted a series of high level meetings in London to focus on supporting Palestinian institutions.

Zimbabwe

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Zimbabwe.

Meg Munn: Since the elections, elements of the security forces have systematically brutalised ordinary Zimbabweans, with almost 700 people beaten, 6 murdered and over 7,000 people displaced. The majority of Zimbabweans have already rejected Robert Mugabe as President. For any second round to be free and fair, violence must cease and international observers be given access now. We will continue to urge for a UN human rights mission or envoy to investigate abuses.

Zimbabwe

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Zimbabwe.

Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies) today.

Zimbabwe

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Zimbabwe.

Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies) today.

Zimbabwe

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on human rights in Zimbabwe.

Meg Munn: More than 700 verified cases of politically motivated violence have been recorded, at least 120 people have been hospitalised and six murdered since 29 March. 7,000 people have been displaced. The UK is supporting the victims of violence through DFID's aid programme, and continues to press for a UN human rights mission or envoy to visit Zimbabwe to investigate abuses.

Gaza

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the political situation in Gaza.

Meg Munn: We are very concerned about the grave situation with renewed violence in the Gaza Strip, and the firing of rockets from Gaza into Israel. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has been in regular contact with the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Prime Minister Fayyad, Israeli Foreign Minister Livni and key international figures came to London on 2 May to discuss the situation as well as how we can support Palestinian institutions.

Darfur

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress has been made on the UK initiative to host peace talks on the crisis in Darfur.

Meg Munn: There has been little movement in the Darfur political process owing to fragmentation among rebel groups and continued violence. The UK has offered further support for international efforts, including a possible meeting in the UK, if that would help revitalise the process. We are exploring the scope for this with the United Nations and African Union, Sudan's neighbours and international partners, the Government of Sudan and Darfur movements.

Darfur

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made on securing a London Conference of all parties on Darfur.

Meg Munn: I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer I gave to my right hon. Friend the Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill (Mr. Clarke) today.

Non-Proliferation Treaty

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made on securing a Non-Proliferation Treaty review in 2010.

Jim Murphy: The non-proliferation treaty is subject to a review cycle, with the next review in 2010. Prior to 2010 the UK will use the NPT Preparatory Committee to take forward work to strengthen the treaty. The UK will promote consensus around key measures encompassing the treaty's three pillars—zero tolerance of proliferation; safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technology; and reinvigorated commitment to a world free from nuclear weapons.

Iraq

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he proposes to establish an inquiry into the Government's discharge of its responsibilities in relation to the war in Iraq.

Jim Murphy: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has previously acknowledged the requirement for an inquiry into the military action we undertook in Iraq, and to look at the lessons from our experiences.
	He has also stated that the time for that inquiry is after our forces have completed their work in Iraq.

Pakistan

Christine Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government is taking to support democracy in Pakistan.

Jim Murphy: We are working with the Government of Pakistan, both bilaterally and through the EU and other multilateral organisations, to help meet the political and economic challenges it faces.
	Recent visits by my right hon. Friends the Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary have underscored the UK's commitment to promote good governance, strengthen democratic institutions, and combat terrorism. The UK played an active role in the EU's Election Observation Mission in February.

Cuba: Political Prisoners

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the number of political prisoners in Cuba.

Meg Munn: It is difficult to estimate the number of political prisoners in Cuba as the Cuban government maintains tight control over such information.
	In a January 2007 report, the Personal Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Cuba, Christine Chanet, noted that 59 of the 75 dissidents detained during the spring 2003 opposition crackdown remained in prison. In July 2007 the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation cited 246 cases of political prisoners. Since then, four political prisoners have been released and exiled to Spain.
	Amnesty International now identifies at least 58 dissidents that remain incarcerated in Cuba.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on carbon offsetting in each of the last three years; and to which companies payments for carbon offsetting have been made in each such year.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is committed to the Government's carbon offsetting programme. In 2006 the FCO spent £200,000 on carbon credits to offset the carbon dioxide, and other emissions, generated by the air travel of Ministers and officials based in the UK in 2004. These credits were bought through the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) carbon offset scheme from South African wind developer Genesis ECO-Energy (Pty) Ltd. A further £812,608 has been paid to REEEP to offset the same category of travel undertaken in 2005 and 2006. This will be used to purchase credits in a scheme in a developing country which is also a key climate change partner. Travel undertaken in 2007 will be similarly offset once the level of emissions are known.

English Channel

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on attempts to rename the English Channel.

Meg Munn: holding answer 8 May 2008
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not discussed the renaming of the English Channel with EU counterparts.

English Channel

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to oppose any moves to change the name of the English Channel at the next United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names.

Meg Munn: holding answer 8 May 2008
	The next UN Conference on the Standardisation of Geographical Names is in 2012. The Conference cannot legislate, or pass resolutions, on renaming specific geographical locations. We are unaware of any move to rename the English Channel.

Malaysia: Military Decorations

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish the correspondence between officials from his Department and the Malaysian authorities concerning the Pingat Jasa Malaysia Medal.

Meg Munn: We have no plans to do so.

Malaysia: Military Decorations

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2008,  Official Report, column 371W, on Malaysia Military Decorations, on  (a) how many occasions and  (b) what dates officials from his Department and the Malaysian High Commission met to discuss the Pingat Jasa Malaysia Medal.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office holds regular bilateral meetings with officials from the Malaysian high commission, as it does with all other embassies and high commissions. The Pingat Jasa Malaysia medal was discussed on a number of occasions, during meetings, by email and on the telephone during the course of 2005. The honours secretary from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office met with officials from the Malaysian high commission to brief them on the outcome of the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals' discussions on 20 December 2005, prior to the decision being made public.

Malaysia: Military Decorations

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons there was no correspondence between the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals and the Malaysian authorities prior to the decision by the Committee that British veterans may accept, but not wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia Medal.

Meg Munn: It is not usual for the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (HD Committee) to enter into correspondence with a country offering a medal to British citizens. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is responsible for relations with overseas governments and relays relevant views and factors (such as bilateral relations) to the committee. The HD Committee considers these alongside other issues such as the importance of upholding the rules, which govern the British honours system.

Nigeria: Security

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in Nigeria.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) reviews the security situation in Nigeria continually and its assessment is reflected in the FCO's Travel Advice.
	We advise against all travel to some of the Niger Delta States (Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers, including Port Harcourt) and riverine areas of the Cross River State. We advise British nationals in these states to leave. Additionally, the FCO advise against all but essential travel to the Akwa Ibom State. This advice is due to the high risk to individuals of kidnapping, armed robbery and other armed attacks in these areas.
	The FCO does not advise against travel to other areas of Nigeria. However, travellers should be aware of an increase in violent street crime in the south of the country. Demonstrations and outbreaks of localised civil unrest and violence can occur with little notice throughout the country. We continue to keep the security situation in Nigeria under review and update our travel advice accordingly.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent  (a) assessment he has made of the intensity of conflict and  (b) estimate he has made of the deaths occurring in southern Sudan; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: We are aware of recent clashes in the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan, one of the three disputed areas along the border between North and South Sudan. These have mostly been small scale inter-tribal skirmishes, but during 24-29 April involved clashes between units of the Sudan People's Liberation Army and armed elements of the Misseriya tribe. Reports from the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) suggest fighting was localised and calm has since been restored. Reliable casualty figures are hard to ascertain, but UNMIS suggest a total of 31 casualties.
	My right hon. Friends the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for International Development and my noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, the right hon. Lord Malloch-Brown, raised the issue of the disputed border between North and South Sudan during their meetings with the Sudanese Foreign Minister of 28-30 April. They urged the Government of National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan to engage with the Assessment and Evaluation Commission as a suitable body to broker a resolution for the border disputes.

Sudan: Human Rights

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the government of Sudan on its  (a) treatment of refugees and  (b) compliance with UNHCR protocols and commitments.

Meg Munn: We monitor refugees in Sudan through the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), who has reported that refugees arriving in Sudan are assessed at one of the recognised refugee camps near Kassala in the border area with Eritrea. Refugees are required to stay in the camps and are not normally granted the right to travel from a designated area. A UNHCR legal team attends any court cases where recognised refugees have been arrested.

Sudan: Refugees

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the treatment of refugees in Sudan, with particular reference to those from Eritrea.

Meg Munn: Our officials in Khartoum monitor the status of refugees in Sudan through the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to whom we give strong support. As a result of UNHCR's lobbying, the Government of Sudan has set up a committee to revise domestic legislation on asylum.

Zimbabwe: African Union

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans there are to send an African Union  (a) envoy and  (b) observer mission to Zimbabwe; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: holding answer 12 May 2008
	The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission undertook a mission to the Southern African region, including Zimbabwe, from 3-5 May 2008. The mission was part of a wider effort, by the AU, to engage with the situation in Zimbabwe. No plans have emerged for a further specific envoy to be sent. The AU sent an observer mission to monitor elections in Zimbabwe and have indicated that a farther mission would be deployed to observe any second round.

Zimbabwe: Elections

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with leaders of African Union states on steps to resolve the electoral crisis in Zimbabwe; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: holding answer 12 May 2008
	My right hon. Friends the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and my noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, the right hon. Lord Malloch-Brown, have been in regular contact with a large number of Heads of State and Foreign Ministers in Africa and elsewhere. We continue to encourage their engagement and press them to use their influence to bring a speedy and peaceful resolution to the electoral crisis and an end to human rights abuses.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Apprentices

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will list the 10 largest employers in the country that have declined to participate in apprenticeship schemes.

David Lammy: We do not hold information to answer this question. The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) works with many of the largest employers in England to resolve skills issues and implement workforce development solutions. The LSC through its National Employer Service has a current programme to engage with 300 of the largest companies by 2011.

Apprentices: Disabled

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will make a statement on the impact of Government policy changes in respect of Remploy Ltd. on the number of disabled people on apprenticeships.

David Lammy: Remploy's new learning business is currently looking at how the organisation could support the Learning and Skills Council in increasing the number of disabled apprentices within its overall business strategy of supporting 20,000 disabled people into work every year by 2012. We are introducing an entitlement to an apprenticeship for all suitably qualified young people and together with Remploy's modernisation programme I expect this will have a positive impact on the number of people with a disability accessing an apprenticeship.

Apprentices: Employment

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of apprenticeships that are statistically  (a) most and  (b) least likely to end in employment within 12 months of close of training.

David Lammy: Data are not available for the 12 months following an apprentice completing their framework. The information provided in the following table shows apprentice destinations immediately following the completion of their apprenticeship.
	
		
			  Immediate destination of 2005/06 apprenticeships framework completions by sector 
			  P ercentage 
			  Sector  Employed( 1)  Unemployed  Training  Other( 2)  Total completions( 3) 
			 Government Skills (Central Government) 100 0 0 0 275 
			 LLUK (HE and FE) 100 0 0 0 13 
			 Proskills (process and manufacturing) 92 1 0 7 590 
			 Skillfast (fashion and textiles) 89 1 0 10 483 
			 Skills for Logistics (delivery and storage) 87 2 0 12 853 
			 Skills for Security(4) 85 0 0 15 544 
			 People 1st (hospitality, travel and tourism) 83 0 0 16 8,111 
			 SEMTA (engineering) 82 1 1 16 8,715 
			 Inst of Customer Service(4) 81 1 0 18 8,266 
			 GoSkills (passenger transport) 80 5 0 15 1,374 
			 e-skills (IT and telecoms) 80 1 1 17 4,991 
			 Cogent (chemicals, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas) 80 3 1 16 88 
			 Habia (hair and beauty)(4) 79 1 1 19 8,375 
			 Skillsmart Retail 78 2 0 19 3,832 
			 Automotive Skills 78 1 1 21 6,385 
			 Lantra (environmental and land-based) 77 2 2 19 2,224 
			 SummitSkills (building services engineering) 76 0 2 22 5,783 
			 Skills for Health 76 2 5 17 3,564 
			 SkillsActive (sport and recreation) 76 0 3 21 2,018 
			 Others(4, 5) 75 2 0 23 359 
			 Financial Services 74 0 0 26 165 
			 Council for Administration(4) 72 3 1 24 13,648 
			 Improve (food and drink manufacture) 71 1 0 28 298 
			 Asset Skills (property and cleaning) 68 0 0 32 125 
			 Skills for Care and Development 68 6 2 24 6,039 
			 ECITB/Construction 62 1 0 36 9,184 
			 Creative and Cultural (6)— (6)— (6)— (6)— (6)— 
			 Skills for Justice (6)— (6)— (6)— (6)— (6)— 
			 Skillset (creative media industries) (6)— (6)— (6)— (6)— (6)— 
			 Total 76 2 1 21 296,310 
			 (1 )Proportions are calculated as a proportion of the framework completions where a destination is known. (2 )Other destination includes death, pregnancy and awaiting confirmation of achievement. (3 )Total does not include those framework achievements for which the destination is unknown. (4 )Indicates a sector that is not a Sector Skills Council. (5) Others sectors includes minor bodies and where records are incomplete. (6 )Indicates fewer than 10 completions.  Source:  LSC Work Based Learning Individualised Learner record.

Campusalam

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what funds have been allocated to the Campusalam website by his Department and its predecessor in each year for which figures are available.

David Lammy: The Department has not allocated any funds to the Campusalam website.

Higher Education

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what mechanisms exist for co-ordination of higher education policy between the Government and the devolved administrations.

Bill Rammell: Each administration determines its own higher education policies and all HE institutions are autonomous. Ministers and officials meet from time to time to discuss each others' policies and issues of common interest, such as information given to students about the support available if they study outside their home country.

University for Industry: Citigate Public Affairs

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what payments  (a) University for Industry and  (b) Learn Direct made to Citigate Public Affairs in each of the last five years; and on what date and for what purpose the payment was made in each case.

David Lammy: The payments made by Ufi at this level of detail are not collected by my Department. This is an operational matter for Ufi since they determine any payments to local providers, partners and other organisations that are necessary to support the delivery of the Ufi's key priorities and targets. Sarah Jones, Ufi's chief executive, has written to the hon. Member with further information and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Sarah Jones, dated 1 May 2008:
	I write following your Parliamentary Question regarding the payment of fees to Citigate Public Affairs over the last five years. The table below outlines the expenditure of Ufi, the company which owns and operates learndirect services in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, in relation to this public affairs company:
	
		
			  £ 
			   12 months 2003( 1)  12 months 2004( 1)  12 months 2005( 1)  12 months 2006  12 months 2007  3 months 2008  Total 
			 England/general 142,061 71,219 18,057 14,400 13,200 2,400 261,337 
			 Wales 36,000 21,000 — — — — 57,000 
			 N Ireland 4,500 3,500 4,500 — — — 12,500 
			 MP database — 10,400 — — — — 10,400 
			 Public Accounts Committee — — 8,825 — — — 8,825 
			 Party conference fees — 24,636 — — — — 24,636 
			 Other — 14,850 — — — — 14,850 
			  182,561 145,605 31,382 14,400 13,200 2,400 389,548 
			 (1) Citigate Public Affairs services to 2005 were purchased via Central Office of Information.  Note: Citigate Public Affairs were taken over by Grayling Group in June 2007—sums paid to Grayling Group are therefore included for consistency 
		
	
	The fees noted above covered the provision of the following services:
	 2003
	Management of Ufi's attendance at the three main autumn party conferences.
	Weekly provision of parliamentary and environmental monitoring on education and skills issues and policy.
	Provision of ad hoc public affairs advice to the Chief Executive at that time.
	Development and delivery of communications campaigns to Whitehall and Westminster audience to promote the contribution of learndirect to delivering the Government's skills agenda.
	Provision of briefings on MPs to Ufi staff in preparation for visits by MPs to learndirect centres.
	Building, populating and maintaining a database recording contact between Ufi and learndirect, and MPs through visits to centres and correspondence.
	 2004
	Management of attendance at the three main autumn party conferences.
	Weekly provision of parliamentary and environmental monitoring on education and skills issues and policy.
	Provision of ad hoc public affairs advice to the Chief Executive at that time.
	Development and delivery of communications campaigns to Whitehall and Westminster audience to promote the contribution of learndirect to delivering the Government's skills agenda.
	Provision of briefings on MPs to Ufi staff in preparation for visits by MPs to learndirect centres.
	Building, populating and maintaining a database recording contact between Ufi and learndirect, and MPs through visits to centres and correspondence.
	 2005
	Preparation for Ufi's first appearance before the Public Accounts Committee (14 November 2005), including training of Ufi witnesses and background briefing on Committee members.
	Building, populating and maintaining a database recording contact between Ufi and learndirect, and MPs through visits to centres and correspondence.
	 2006
	Building, populating and maintaining a database recording contact between Ufi and learndirect, and MPs through visits to centres and correspondence.
	 2007
	Building, populating and maintaining a database recording contact between Ufi and learndirect, and MPs through visits to centres and correspondence.
	 2008
	Building, populating and maintaining a database recording contact between Ufi and learndirect and MPs through visits to centres and correspondence.
	I believe this information answers the Parliamentary Question you posed on 24 April 2008.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Council of Economic Advisers: Complaints

Alan Duncan: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether civil servants in his Department have lodged complaints against a member of the Council of Economic Advisers since 1997.

Edward Miliband: holding answer 9 May 2008
	It is standard practice not to disclose details of personnel issues relating to individual employees.

Departmental Translation Services

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was spent by his Department on translation and interpretation services in 2007-08, broken down by language.

Phil Hope: The information is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Children in Care

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many looked after children there were in each local authority in each of the last five years.

Kevin Brennan: Information on the number of children in care in each local authority area in each of the last five years is shown in the following table. (Table LAA1).
	Table LAA1 is taken from the Statistical First Release entitled 'Children Looked After in England (Including Adoption and Care Leavers) year ending 31 March 2007', which is located at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000741/index.shtml and table LAA1 can be found within the 1st set of 10 additional tables supplementing SFR27/2007 on the website.
	
		
			  Table LAA1: Children looked after at 31 March 2003 to 2007( 1, 2, 3,)  England 
			  Numbers and rates per 10,000 children aged under 18 years 
			   Numbers  Rates 
			   2003( 4)  2004( 5)  2005( 5)  2006( 5)  2007( 5)  2003( 4)  2004( 5)  2005( 5)  2006( 5)  2007( 5) 
			  England 61,200 61,200 61,000 60,300 60,000 55 55 55 55 55 
			
			  North East 3,280 3,320 3,290 3,160 3,250 59 60 60 58 61 
			 Darlington 155 145 140 150 140 71 66 63 67 63 
			 Durham 445 495 475 410 405 42 47 46 40 40 
			 Gateshead 250 265 245 280 305 61 64 61 70 77 
			 Hartlepool 105 115 120 115 135 49 54 55 55 63 
			 Middlesbrough 265 240 240 240 240 77 72 72 74 75 
			 Newcastle Upon Tyne 380 415 445 440 475 69 77 83 83 91 
			 North Tyneside 275 240 230 220 230 66 58 56 55 57 
			 Northumberland 330 335 350 315 325 50 52 55 50 52 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 150 140 130 135 140 48 44 42 43 46 
			 South Tyneside 270 265 265 240 250 79 79 80 75 80 
			 Stockton-On-Tees 205 215 190 190 185 47 49 44 44 44 
			 Sunderland 465 450 460 430 420 74 72 75 72 71 
			
			  North West 9,930 10,070 10,240 10,260 10,410 64 65 67 67 69 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 290 275 290 310 295 74 70 74 79 76 
			 Blackpool 245 270 275 290 260 81 89 91 97 87 
			 Bolton 305 345 380 390 405 48 55 60 62 65 
			 Bury 265 250 290 300 290 61 58 68 70 68 
			 Cheshire 480 495 490 500 545 32 34 33 34 37 
			 Cumbria 620 550 525 480 465 60 53 51 47 46 
			 Halton 190 170 165 160 160 65 59 59 58 57 
			 Knowsley 235 260 280 280 290 62 69 75 76 80 
			 Lancashire 1,300 1,285 1,270 1,280 1,305 50 50 49 50 51 
			 Liverpool 1,015 985 870 820 860 103 102 93 90 96 
			 Manchester 1,240 1,325 1,370 1,455 1,480 128 139 145 154 157 
			 Oldham 295 320 335 360 385 53 57 60 65 70 
			 Rochdale 290 315 315 310 325 56 61 61 62 65 
			 Salford 585 565 575 565 570 120 117 122 121 123 
			 Sefton 370 325 305 330 320 58 51 49 54 54 
			 St Helens 230 235 260 295 320 57 58 64 74 81 
			 Stockport 380 360 370 310 330 59 57 58 50 54 
			 Tameside 295 315 350 320 325 58 62 70 65 67 
			 Trafford 200 195 220 215 220 42 41 46 45 46 
			 Warrington 190 190 210 200 185 42 43 48 46 43 
			 Wigan 415 455 430 410 400 60 66 63 61 60 
			 Wirral 500 590 675 680 670 68 82 95 97 97 
			
			  Yorkshire and The Humber 6,680 6,630 6,550 6,430 6,550 59 58 58 57 59 
			 Barnsley 250 265 250 275 260 51 54 51 56 53 
			 Bradford 815 845 835 830 810 66 68 68 67 65 
			 Calderdale 185 200 235 235 260 40 44 52 51 57 
			 Doncaster 410 400 390 415 405 61 60 59 64 63 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 245 265 290 285 295 37 39 43 42 45 
			 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 615 570 510 550 525 105 98 89 97 94 
			 Kirklees 295 305 310 330 385 31 32 33 35 41 
			 Leeds 1,350 1,385 1,335 1,315 1,360 85 88 86 85 89 
			 North East Lincolnshire 240 230 190 145 155 62 60 50 38 43 
			 North Lincolnshire 180 195 190 170 160 52 56 55 49 47 
			 North Yorkshire 380 395 415 415 430 30 32 33 33 35 
			 Rotherham 410 365 380 315 340 70 62 66 55 59 
			 Sheffield 715 630 660 650 670 66 58 61 61 63 
			 Wakefield 435 420 410 365 340 60 59 57 52 49 
			 York 150 160 150 140 155 42 45 42 40 45 
			
			  East Midlands 4,030 3,940 3,760 3,690 3,680 43 42 40 39 39 
			 Derby 385 385 370 380 390 71 72 69 72 74 
			 Derbyshire 580 530 520 500 500 36 33 32 31 31 
			 Leicester 475 515 465 460 440 69 75 69 68 65 
			 Leicestershire 360 345 330 350 325 27 26 25 26 24 
			 Lincolnshire 560 595 600 560 525 40 42 42 40 37 
			 Northamptonshire 600 600 535 555 565 40 40 35 36 37 
			 Nottingham 525 485 445 410 465 90 84 78 73 83 
			 Nottinghamshire 530 475 475 460 440 32 29 29 28 27 
			 Rutland 10 10 15 10 20 12 13 18 13 24 
			
			  West Midlands 7,120 6,910 6,980 7,140 7,320 58 57 57 59 61 
			 Birmingham 2,055 1,915 1,915 1,965 2,105 81 76 76 78 84 
			 Coventry 510 500 500 490 500 72 72 72 72 74 
			 Dudley 410 420 430 450 470 60 62 64 67 70 
			 Herefordshire 190 195 175 155 170 50 51 46 42 46 
			 Sandwell 525 515 525 555 505 76 75 77 82 75 
			 Shropshire 200 175 185 190 185 33 28 30 31 31 
			 Solihull 200 220 245 285 325 42 47 53 62 70 
			 Staffordshire 620 580 635 680 660 35 33 36 39 38 
			 Stoke-On-Trent 425 395 405 430 440 80 75 77 82 85 
			 Telford and Wrekin 200 195 190 200 230 51 49 49 51 60 
			 Walsall 465 485 460 455 430 75 79 76 75 72 
			 Warwickshire 400 445 465 470 455 36 40 42 42 41 
			 Wolverhampton 385 380 400 375 370 70 69 74 70 70 
			 Worcestershire 535 495 455 435 475 45 42 38 37 40 
			
			  East of England 5,570 5,750 5,800 5,750 5,650 46 47 48 47 46 
			 Bedfordshire 405 440 390 330 315 45 48 42 36 34 
			 Cambridgeshire 345 350 380 385 365 28 28 31 31 30 
			 Essex 1,250 1,285 1,285 1,300 1,235 42 44 44 44 42 
			 Hertfordshire 960 985 980 965 975 40 41 41 40 40 
			 Luton 400 410 395 395 380 82 86 84 84 81 
			 Norfolk 730 755 830 825 835 45 46 51 51 51 
			 Peterborough 325 335 375 370 375 84 87 98 96 97 
			 Southend-on-Sea 265 305 315 305 285 74 85 90 87 82 
			 Suffolk 675 680 665 690 700 45 46 44 46 47 
			 Thurrock 225 210 190 185 185 64 60 53 52 52 
			
			  London 11,740 12,140 11,880 11,770 11,290 73 75 74 73 70 
			
			  Inner London 5,990 6,200 5,970 5,750 5,380 100 103 100 96 91 
			 Camden 345 360 340 340 345 92 96 89 87 88 
			 City Of London 5 15 25 20 25 80 208 303 268 296 
			 Hackney 455 480 480 460 440 87 92 92 89 86 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 390 435 410 390 365 128 143 134 127 120 
			 Haringey 520 515 500 490 445 104 103 100 100 90 
			 Islington 480 475 445 400 365 135 135 128 117 108 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 240 260 250 235 200 86 92 86 78 67 
			 Lambeth 645 630 615 660 595 115 114 111 121 110 
			 Lewisham 565 615 570 480 460 98 109 101 85 81 
			 Newham 675 700 665 685 665 95 100 98 103 101 
			 Southwark 680 660 655 640 625 121 119 119 117 115 
			 Tower Hamlets 330 365 390 380 345 66 72 78 78 71 
			 Wandsworth 365 355 325 275 255 80 78 71 59 54 
			 Westminster 305 330 305 295 260 99 104 95 89 78 
			
			  Outer London 5,750 5,940 5,910 6,010 5,900 57 59 58 59 58 
			 Barking and Dagenham 385 370 390 375 345 90 87 92 86 79 
			 Barnet 380 390 400 370 345 53 54 55 51 47 
			 Bexley 230 205 220 210 205 45 40 43 41 40 
			 Brent 355 385 375 400 405 61 66 65 70 71 
			 Bromley 310 315 295 285 255 47 48 44 43 38 
			 Croydon 680 720 705 800 990 84 90 88 100 125 
			 Ealing 410 390 435 455 435 61 60 67 70 67 
			 Enfield 310 320 305 295 290 48 49 46 44 43 
			 Greenwich 555 555 495 525 525 106 107 97 102 102 
			 Harrow 160 165 170 175 160 33 34 35 36 33 
			 Havering 165 185 190 200 185 33 37 38 40 38 
			 Hillingdon 460 520 590 630 505 80 91 103 110 88 
			 Hounslow 320 325 330 340 340 66 67 69 71 71 
			 Kingston Upon Thames 85 135 90 90 80 27 44 29 28 26 
			 Merton 175 145 145 110 95 43 36 36 27 24 
			 Redbridge 150 170 180 165 175 26 29 30 28 29 
			 Richmond Upon Thames 115 110 100 90 85 33 31 27 24 22 
			 Sutton 165 155 155 145 145 39 37 37 34 34 
			 Waltham Forest 340 385 360 360 330 66 75 69 70 63 
			
			  South East 7,550 7,530 7,590 7,470 7,340 42 42 42 42 41 
			 Bracknell Forest 65 75 65 80 80 25 27 25 29 29 
			 Brighton and Hove 385 385 365 380 400 83 84 79 82 86 
			 Buckinghamshire 270 305 295 315 325 24 27 26 28 29 
			 East Sussex 475 460 465 465 445 45 44 44 44 43 
			 Hampshire 1,045 1,045 1,035 1,070 1,025 37 37 37 38 37 
			 Isle Of Wight 155 165 165 175 200 57 61 60 64 73 
			 Kent 1,515 1,375 1,475 1,350 1,235 49 45 48 44 40 
			 Medway Towns 355 380 345 350 350 57 61 56 57 58 
			 Milton Keynes 225 205 230 235 215 41 38 42 43 39 
			 Oxfordshire 505 485 480 430 410 38 36 36 32 30 
			 Portsmouth 255 270 300 285 265 64 68 77 74 68 
			 Reading 170 185 195 190 215 56 63 67 65 74 
			 Slough 140 135 145 140 135 48 46 51 49 46 
			 Southampton 340 330 315 300 295 77 75 73 70 70 
			 Surrey 710 795 785 735 755 31 34 33 31 32 
			 West Berkshire 110 105 125 115 115 32 31 36 32 32 
			 West Sussex 700 705 695 735 730 43 43 42 45 45 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 60 70 55 70 85 19 23 18 22 26 
			 Wokingham 60 55 60 60 65 18 15 17 18 19 
			
			  South West 4,880 4,900 4,860 4,630 4,550 46 46 46 44 43 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 140 125 105 115 125 40 36 30 33 36 
			 Bournemouth 205 190 180 170 140 68 64 61 58 49 
			 Bristol, City of 535 560 630 600 635 65 69 79 76 80 
			 Cornwall 555 555 530 490 465 53 53 51 46 45 
			 Devon 695 685 610 575 580 48 47 42 40 40 
			 Dorset 280 275 295 275 250 35 34 36 34 31 
			 Gloucestershire 465 450 440 400 400 37 36 35 32 32 
			 Isles Of Scilly 0 — — — 0 0 — — — 0 
			 North Somerset 160 170 150 160 160 40 42 37 38 38 
			 Plymouth 505 515 515 425 390 96 99 99 83 77 
			 Poole 140 135 120 125 110 48 48 42 44 39 
			 Somerset 365 380 375 400 385 33 34 33 36 34 
			 South Gloucestershire 125 140 150 170 170 22 25 26 30 30 
			 Swindon 220 210 240 250 255 52 51 58 60 60 
			 Torbay 215 205 215 175 190 81 78 80 67 72 
			 Wiltshire 285 295 305 300 295 29 29 30 29 29 
			 (1) Source: SSDA903 return on children looked after.  (2 )Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short-term placements.  (3) Historical data may differ from older publications. This is mainly due to the implementation of amendments and corrections sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials.  (4) Figures are derived from the SSDA903 one-third sample survey.  (5 )Figures are taken from the SSDA903 return which, since 2003-04, covered all children looked after.

Children: Day Care

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps the Government have taken to assist working parents with childcare outside school hours since 1997.

Beverley Hughes: Since 1997, the total number of registered childcare places has more than doubled; and the number of places in out of school clubs has increased from 78,700 to 365,400 over the same period.
	Childcare, including activity based provision that parents can use as childcare, is a key part of the extended schools core offer. Primary schools are expected to provide access to traditional childcare between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. in line with demand as well as a range of activities. Secondary schools are expected to deliver access to activities that provide a safe place for children and young people to be between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Over 10,500 schools are already delivering access to the full core offer and many more schools are delivering access to the childcare and activities elements of it. All schools will provide access to the core of extended services by 2010, with at least half of all primary schools and a third of secondary schools doing so by September 2008.
	All local authorities were required to complete assessments of the sufficiency of childcare in their areas by 31 March, identifying supply, demand, and gaps between the two. Since 1 April, local authorities have also been under a new duty to secure sufficient childcare for working parents, and that will help parents who are seeking childcare outside school hours to find the flexible, affordable, high quality provision that they want for their children.
	We appreciate the impact that childcare costs can have on the family budget and are providing substantial help—over £3.5 million a day—through the tax credits system to help working parents with the cost of childcare. Parents making use of childcare out of school hours are, like other parents, benefiting from this.

Departmental Domestic Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on how many occasions he has visited  (a) Scotland,  (b) Wales and  (c) Northern Ireland in an official capacity in the last 12 months.

Kevin Brennan: My right hon. Friend has visited  (a) Scotland once,  (b) Wales once but has not visited  (c) Northern Ireland in an official capacity since June 2007. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will consider reforming the eligibility criteria for the education maintenance allowance (EMA) to allow children under the age of 16 years who have been advanced one school year or more and are studying at a post-16 educational level to receive the EMA.

Jim Knight: We have no plans to make EMA available to young people under the age of 16. EMA is not based on the academic level a pupil reaches. It is targeted at those who reach the end of their compulsory school phase who have the option of dropping out of learning.
	The purpose of EMA is to remove barriers to learning, and increase participation and retention rates among learners who can legally leave education. Therefore, EMA is not available to learners who by law must remain in education.

Education: Assessments

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families by what date he expects  (a) Key Stage 2 and  (b) Key Stage 3 pupils to receive the results of their 2008 national tests; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The National Assessment Agency, which administers the National Curriculum tests for Key Stages 2 and 3, has stated that all schools will receive their test results by Tuesday 8 July 2008.

Education: Assessments

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what discussions his Department has had with ETS on the training of markers of Key Stage 2 and 3 national tests; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: None. The National Assessment Agency and ETS Europe, as its delivery partner, are responsible for the recruitment and training of markers for National Curriculum tests for Key Stages 2 and 3. All markers receive professional training in applying the mark scheme. Supervising markers attend a minimum of two full-day training meetings, focusing on the application of the mark scheme and on supporting markers in doing so.

Education: Assessments

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what procedures his Department has in place to ensure that all markers of national tests are qualified; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The criteria for recruiting markers for 2008 are the same as in previous years. The new test operations contractor, ETS Europe requires markers to have an educational qualification and teaching experience in the relevant Key Stage and subject. All markers are also subject to a referee check by the Test Operations Agency. Markers are required to attend a full-day training meeting. If markers do not attend the relevant training meeting they are not allowed to mark. Following the training meeting, all markers are required to successfully pass "standardisation", a process whereby markers are required to mark a set number of national standard scripts. Markers that do not pass the standardisation process are not permitted to mark pupils' scripts.

Employment Tribunals Service: Complaints

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many complaints his Department has received about the administering of national tests by ETS; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Records show that the Department has received four inquiries over the last week about the administration of national tests by the test operations contractor, ETS Europe. These are matters for the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.

Extracurricular Activities

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps the Government have taken to increase participation in after-school activities on the part of school pupils since 1997.

Beverley Hughes: The Government are committed to making out of school activities available to all children, and has put in place a large range of action to support this as part of the extended schools programme.
	Our commitment is that by 2010 all schools will be providing access to a core range of extended services, including a varied menu of activities from 8am to 6pm. We are making very good progress, with more than 10,500 schools now providing the full core offer, and many more already providing the varied menu of activities aspect of the core offer.
	A total of £840 million of Government funding was made available to local authorities and schools up to 2008 to support them in developing extended services, with some funding also available to promote and encourage effective programmes of study support available as part of the school development grant. A further £1.3 billion has been announced and will be available over the next three years to support the start-up and sustainability of services. Also as part of this, specific funding will be made available to support access to activities for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
	The Training and Development Agency support schools and local authorities to develop extended services, together with other partner organisations from the private and voluntary sectors. Guidance on extended schools and study support has provided practical advice for schools and their partners on setting up activities, developing and funding them, and has highlighted the significant benefits of doing so.

Flexible Working

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 23 April 2008,  Official Report, column 2095W, what the standard procedure for requesting flexible working arrangements in his Department is; what guidance is given to employees in his Department advising them on how they can request flexible working; and if he will place a copy of this guidance in the Library.

Kevin Brennan: Any member of staff can request a change in working pattern and line managers should consider requests in line with the published policy and guidance.
	I have arranged for a copy of the guidance to be placed in the Library of the House as requested.

GCE A-Level

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average A-level points score per pupil was for secondary schools with sixth forms containing  (a) 50 or fewer,  (b) 51 to 100,  (c) 101 to 150,  (d) 151 to 200,  (e) 201 to 250 and  (f) more than 250 pupils in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The information is in the following table:
	
		
			   Number of pupils studying at A level or equivalent  Average point score per student in schools of each size 
			   2006  2007 
			 50 or fewer 632.9 645.4 
			 51 to 100 746.5 758.1 
			 101 to 150 810.6 827.1 
			 151 to 200 832.8 848.8 
			 201 to 250 844.3 808.5 
			 More than 250 851.8 867.7 
			  Note:  Figures relate to 16-18 year olds (age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August) in all schools with sixth forms published in the achievement and attainment tables. 
		
	
	Figures for 2004-05 have not been provided as they are not comparable to the figures given for 2005-06 and 2006-07. Up to 2005-06 the UCAS tariff was used to calculate average point scores. However, this did not extend to cover the new range of qualifications now included as equivalencies, so the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) developed a tariff to calculate point scores for all Level 3 qualifications approved under Section 96 of the Learning and Skills Act (2000).

Higher Civil Servants

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of his Department's and its predecessors' senior civil service staff had flexible working arrangements in each year since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: Flexi-time working arrangements do not apply to senior civil service staff. However, they can work flexibly in terms of working patterns and working from home.
	Data are only held on my Department and not predecessor departments. Currently, there around 11 per cent. of senior civil service staff (12 out of 114) who work part-time and a number also work from home occasionally through remote access to our IT systems. Information on home working is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Nursery Schools

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pages of guidance his Department and its predecessors sent to nursery school headteachers in each of the last 10 years.

Kevin Brennan: Maintained nursery schools have received a wide range of statutory and non statutory guidance over the last 10 years. Statistical data on the number of pages included in these documents are not normally collected and would be possible to find out only at disproportionate costs.
	The number of documents sent to all primary schools which would also have been sent to maintained nursery schools is detailed in the following table. The Department stopped sending regular paper mailings to schools in December 2004 replacing it with a regular fortnightly e-mail which allows schools to order the required numbers of documents at their discretion.
	
		
			  Guidance notes issued to primary schools 
			   Primary 
			 1997-98 86 
			 1998-99 96 
			 1999-2000 146 
			 2000-01 47 
			 2001-02 55 
			 2002-03 39 
			 2003-04 31 
			 2004-05 0

Pupils: Southend

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children were on the roll  (a) in each secondary school and  (b) at special schools in Southend in each of the last five years for which information is available; and how many children in Southend with special educational needs attended special schools outside Southend in each year.

Jim Knight: The information on the number of pupils in  (a) each secondary school and  (b) special schools has been placed in the House Library.
	The number of pupils with special educational needs who are resident in Southend on Sea local authority but attend special schools outside Southend on Sea local authority has been provided in this answer.
	
		
			  Number of pupils with special educational needs who are resident in Southend on Sea local authority but attend special schools outside Southend on Sea local authority: Position in January each year 2004 to 2008 (provisional). Southend on Sea local authority 
			   Number of pupils 
			 2004 29 
			 2005 30 
			 2006 37 
			 2007 30 
			 2008(1) 29 
			 (1) 2008 are data provisional.  Note: Figures on the number of pupils resident in Southend on Sea local authority with special educational needs (SEN) who attend special schools outside Southend on Sea local authority include boarders. SEN includes school action, school action plus and statement of SEN.  Source:  School Census 
		
	
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools and all special schools: number (headcount) of pupils( 1: ) January 2003. Southend local authority 
			  URN  LEA number  Estab number  School name  Headcount of pupils 
			 115210 882 4034 Shoeburyness High School 1,448 
			 115234 882 4492 Prittlewell Technology College 948 
			 115317 882 5401 Westcliff High School for Boys 1,016 
			 115330 882 5414 The Eastwood School (11-18) 794 
			 115339 882 5423 Westcliff High School for Girls 1,012 
			 115344 882 5428 Southend High School for Girls 936 
			 115346 882 5430 The Thorpe Bay School 602 
			 115350 882 5434 Belfairs High School 1,217 
			 115362 882 5446 Southend High School for Boys 888 
			 115363 882 5447 St. Thomas More High School for Boys 872 
			 115368 882 5452 Cecil Jones High School 1,476 
			 115381 882 5465 St. Bernard's High School 815 
			 115385 882 5950 The St. Christopher School 136 
			 115442 882 7001 Kingsdown School 105 
			 115443 882 7003 Priory School 39 
			 115444 882 7004 St. Nicholas School 96 
			 115445 882 7005 Lancaster School 105 
			 (1) Excluded dually registered pupils 
		
	
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools and all special schools: number (headcount) of pupils( 1: ) January 200 4 . Southend local authority 
			  URN  LEA number  Estab number  School name  Headcount of pupils 
			 115210 882 4034 Shoeburyness High School 1,490 
			 115234 882 4492 Prittlewell Technology College 938 
			 115317 882 5401 Westcliff High School for Boys 994 
			 115330 882 5414 The Eastwood School (11-18) 860 
			 115339 882 5423 Westcliff High School for Girls 1,031 
			 115344 882 5428 Southend High School for Girls 953 
			 115346 882 5430 The Thorpe Bay School 584 
			 115350 882 5434 Belfairs High School 1,227 
			 115362 882 5446 Southend High School for Boys 888 
			 115363 882 5447 St. Thomas More High School for Boys 922 
			 115368 882 5452 Cecil Jones High School 1,493 
			 115381 882 5465 St. Bernard's High School 825 
			 115385 882 5950 The St. Christopher School 142 
			 115442 882 7001 Kingsdown School 98 
			 115443 882 7003 Priory School 41 
			 115444 882 7004 St. Nicholas School 96 
			 115445 882 7005 Lancaster School 96 
			 (1) Excluded dually registered pupils 
		
	
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools and all special schools: number (headcount) of pupils( 1) : January 2005. Southend local authority 
			  Urn  LEA number  Estab number  School name  Headcount of pupils 
			 115210 882 4034 Shoeburyness High School 1,510 
			 115234 882 4492 Prittlewell Technology College 917 
			 115317 882 5401 Westcliff High School for Boys 985 
			 115330 882 5414 The Eastwood School (11-18) 922 
			 115339 882 5423 Westcliff High School for Girls 1,032 
			 115344 882 5428 Southend High School for Girls 967 
			 115346 882 5430 The Thorpe Bay School 578 
			 115350 882 5434 Belfairs High School 1,243 
			 115362 882 5446 Southend High School for Boys 914 
			 115363 882 5447 St. Thomas More High School for Boys 941 
			 115368 882 5452 Cecil Jones High School 1,532 
			 115381 882 5465 St. Bernard's High School 869 
			 115385 882 5950 The St. Christopher School 152 
			 115442 882 7001 Kingsdown School 84 
			 115443 882 7003 Priory School 40 
			 115444 882 7004 St. Nicholas School 94 
			 115445 882 7005 Lancaster School 96 
			 (1) Excluded dually registered pupils. 
		
	
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools and all special schools: number (headcount) of pupils( 1) : January 200 6 . Southend local authority 
			  Urn  LEA number  Estab number  School name  Headcount of pupils 
			 115210 882 4034 Shoeburyness High School 1,548 
			 115234 882 4492 Prittlewell Technology College 901 
			 115317 882 5401 Westcliff High School for Boys 1,000 
			 115330 882 5414 The Eastwood School (11-18) 966 
			 115339 882 5423 Westcliff High School for Girls 1,028 
			 115344 882 5428 Southend High School for Girls 995 
			 115346 882 5430 The Thorpe Bay School 565 
			 115350 882 5434 Belfairs High School 1,240 
			 115362 882 5446 Southend High School for Boys 938 
			 115363 882 5447 St. Thomas More High School for Boys 978 
			 115368 882 5452 Cecil Jones High School 1,573 
			 115381 882 5465 St. Bernard's High School 864 
			 115385 882 5950 The St. Christopher School 145 
			 115442 882 7001 Kingsdown School 73 
			 115443 882 7003 Priory School 35 
			 115444 882 7004 St. Nicholas School 93 
			 115445 882 7005 Lancaster School 92 
			 (1) Excluded dually registered pupils. 
		
	
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools and all special schools: number (headcount) of pupils( 1) : January 200 7 . Southend local authority 
			  Urn  LEA number  Estab number  School name  Headcount of pupils 
			 115210 882 4034 Shoeburyness High School 1,558 
			 131146 882 4735 Chase High School 890 
			 115317 882 5401 Westcliff High School for Boys 1,018 
			 115330 882 5414 The Eastwood School (11-18) 975 
			 115339 882 5423 Westcliff High School for Girls 1,031 
			 115344 882 5428 Southend High School for Girls 1,016 
			 115346 882 5430 The Thorpe Bay School 541 
			 115350 882 5434 Belfairs High School 1,270 
			 115362 882 5446 Southend High School for Boys 965 
			 115363 882 5447 St. Thomas More High School for Boys 986 
			 115368 882 5452 Cecil Jones High School 1,578 
			 115381 882 5465 St. Bernard's High School 843 
			 115385 882 5950 The St. Christopher School 153 
			 115442 882 7001 Kingsdown School 63 
			 115443 882 7003 Priory School 32 
			 115444 882 7004 St. Nicholas School 85 
			 115445 882 7005 Lancaster School 91 
			 (1) Excluded dually registered pupils. 
		
	
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools and all special schools: number (headcount) of pupils( 1) : January 200 8 (provisional) . Southend local authority 
			  Urn  LEA number  Estab number  School name  Headcount of pupils 
			 115210 882 4034 Shoeburyness High School 1,606 
			 131145 882 4735 Chase High School 896 
			 132762 882 4736 Futures College 577 
			 115317 882 5401 Westcliff High School for Boys 1,022 
			 115330 882 5414 The Eastwood School (11-18) 897 
			 115339 882 5423 Westcliff High School for Girls 1,026 
			 115344 882 5428 Southend High School for Girls 1,022 
			 115350 882 5434 Belfairs High School 1,312 
			 115362 882 5446 Southend High School for Boys 985 
			 115363 882 5447 St. Thomas More High School for Boys 994 
			 115368 882 5452 Cecil Jones High School 1,557 
			 115381 882 5465 St. Bernard's High School 868 
			 115385 882 5950 The St. Christopher School 169 
			 115442 882 7001 Kingsdown School 89 
			 115443 882 7003 Priory School 37 
			 115444 882 7004 St. Nicholas School 93 
			 115445 882 7005 Lancaster School 65 
			 (1) Excluded dually registered pupils.

School Meals: Per Capita Costs

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the impact of rising food prices on the cost of schools meals; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The Government have not made such an assessment.
	However, the Government are taking forward a number of steps to help to keep down the price of school meals. We are investing over £650 million between 2005-11 to help raise nutritional standards and keep school lunch prices down. This funding is also being used to help build kitchens in areas with no kitchen facilities; to better support the development of training centres for the school food workforce; and to improve overall take-up.
	The School Food Trust is working with manufacturers, caterers and schools to ensure the long term sustainability and efficiency of the country's school food service. They are working with food producers and manufacturers to ensure that the nutrient menus have a minimum effect on the price of school meals as well as working on kitchen efficiencies, including both skilling the workforce and looking at international business models. The Trust has produced guidance focusing on efficient and sustainable school food procurement. This guidance is being distributed to all schools in April 2008.
	The Department is working in close alliance with the Trust and other Departments, to identify opportunities and develop initiatives to further improve efficiencies in procurement. These include price benchmark variance reporting, common food standards and terms and conditions to support local and national competitive tendering, as well as the use of shared contracts from other Departments, where they can be shown to meet the needs of schools.
	In response to a survey carried out in January 2008 by the School Food Trust 2008, 68 per cent. of local authorities (LAs) reported that, in principle, their catering service was expected to break even, with 9 per cent. expected to operate at a deficit, and 10 per cent. expected to make a surplus. For the 2007/08 financial year, 44 per cent. of LAs expected their catering service to break even or make a surplus, compared to the 41 per cent. of LAs who achieved this in 2006/07. Similar numbers of LAs expected their financial outcome to improve (15 LAs) as expected it to worsen (14 LAs). The results of the Trust's survey can be found on its website at:
	http://www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/news_item.asp?Newsld=130

Schools: Procurement

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what advice his Department has issued to schools on procuring food from small, local producers.

Kevin Brennan: The Department has not issued any advice to schools on procuring food from small, local producers. However, it asked the School Food Trust to provide advice on food procurement issues to local authorities and schools and the trust has recently published "A fresh look at school food procurement: efficiency and sustainability"—guidance for schools and local authorities on how efficient and sustainable food procurement can be pursued in tandem. It can be viewed on the trust's website at:
	http://www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/UploadDocs/Library/Documents/sft_fresh_look_procurement_print_friendly.pdf
	The guidance actively promotes the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI), which aims to increase tenders from small and local producers and improve their ability to do business. The guide encourages buyers to identify and reduce barriers to small and medium-sized local enterprises (which may prevent them from tendering) and recognises that smaller suppliers can compete with larger businesses. It also recognises that their participation in the public sector supply chain can benefit local and regional economies. The trust's website also contains a number of case studies where local authorities and schools demonstrate how they have successfully tendered for local produce for their meals' service.
	In addition, the National Governors Association has recently published a supplement to "Food Policy in Schools—a strategic policy framework for school governing bodies". This advises governors on how to produce whole school policy statements to promote healthy food, and improve sustainability and efficiency in their procurement of food and catering services. Like the trust's guidance, it actively promotes the PSFPI.

Special Educational Needs

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children were  (a) classified as having special educational needs,  (b) given a statement of special educational needs and  (c) classified as having emotional and behavioural difficulties in each year since 1990, broken down by (i) sex and (ii) local authority.

Kevin Brennan: Information on the number of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) by gender is only available from 2002 onwards.
	Information was collected from schools on pupils who are supported at "School Action Plus" and those pupils with statements of SEN about their main or primary need and, if appropriate, their secondary need for the first time in 2004.
	We publish national level information on the number of pupils identified with SEN, by gender, and with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties at School Action Plus and with statements of SEN annually. From 2004 the figures can be found in the Statistical First Release 'DCSF: Special Educational Needs in England', the latest of which can be accessed at:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000732/index.shtml
	Figures for 2003 and earlier were published in the Statistical Bulletin: 'Special Educational Needs in England', which can be accessed at:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SBU/b000429/index.shtml
	Equivalent publications are available for earlier years.
	We publish a local level analysis for a range of data on SEN, which can be found in the additional tables at the aforementioned websites. A local level analysis of the number of pupils with SEN and those with statements of SEN by gender in each year since 2002 as well as local level figures for the number of pupils with behaviour, emotional and social difficulties in each year since 2004 could only be produced as disproportionate costs.

Specialised Diplomas

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what provision will be made for young people in custody to new diploma courses; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Every young person aged 14 to 19 will have an entitlement to any of the first 14 Diploma lines from 2013. We have placed a duty on local authorities and the Learning and Skills Council from 2013 to ensure all young people are able to take up their entitlement.
	At present young people in custody are required to continue their education in custody and will be covered by the entitlement. Proposals to improve education and training for young offenders will be included in the forthcoming Youth Crime Action Plan.

Sure Start Programme: Consultants

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of those in his Department working on the Sure Start programme are consultants.

Beverley Hughes: There are no consultants working on the Sure Start programme in the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

JUSTICE

Children: Protection

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many special Children Act applications were issued by  (a) Cambridgeshire county council,  (b) Cumbria county council, (c) Kent county council and  (d) Medway council in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08;
	(2)  how many special Children Act applications were issued by each local authority in Berkshire in  (a) 2005-06,  (b) 2006-07 and  (c) 2007-08.

Bridget Prentice: The current information systems used in the family courts do not require the applicant type to be recorded specifically. Consequently to extract this information would require a manual trawl of case files and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The most reliable data on public law Children Act applications, particularly at local level, relate to orders made rather than applications issued. The numbers of care and supervision orders made in the family courts in Cambridgeshire, Cumbria, Kent (including Medway) and Berkshire in the requested years are therefore provided in the following table.
	National figures for 2006 suggest that between 70 per cent. and 75 per cent. of applications for care or supervision result in either a care order or a supervision order being made. Many of the remaining applications are likely to result in an order of a different type (e.g. 'Section 8' orders for residence or contact).
	The data are compiled based on the location of the order-making court, rather than the local authority making the application, as data on the applicant's identity are not held centrally for all cases. These figures may therefore count orders obtained by other applicants besides the local authorities specified in the question.
	
		
			  Children Act 1989: Care and supervision orders made in the family courts in specific areas 
			   FY 2005-06  FY 2006-07  FY 2007-08 
			  Court/area  CHC  FPC  CHC  FPC  CHC  FPC 
			 Cambridge 34 — 20 — 31 — 
			 Peterborough 58 — 87 — 101 — 
			 Cambridgeshire 92 18 107 16 132 26 
			 Carlisle 27 — 39 — 26 — 
			 Cumbria 27 11 39 24 26 29 
			 Canterbury 80 — 79 — 58 — 
			 Medway 80 — 81 — 110 — 
			 Kent 160 97 160 95 168 75 
			 Milton Keynes 46 — 59 — 66 — 
			 Oxford 46 — 48 — 62 — 
			 Reading 78 — 77 — 116 — 
			 Thames Valley 170 70 184 100 244 91 
			  Notes: 1. CHC = County and High Court; FPC = Family proceedings court. 2. CHC data are collected at court level and do not necessarily reflect counties and their boundaries. 3. FPC data are not available at court level. 4. FPC data for Berkshire are not available as standalone figures. Figures displayed are for Thames Valley. 5. FPC orders made are recorded per child while CHC orders are recorded per order.

Domestic Violence

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of people  (a) tried for and  (b) convicted of domestic violence offences took part in domestic violence perpetrators' programmes in the last 12 months; what targets there are for levels of participation in such programmes in each probation area; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: There is no statutory offence of domestic violence. All 42 probation areas provide domestic violence programmes. The targets for offenders completing domestic violence programmes in 2008-09 are set out in the table as follows.
	
		
			  Area  Target 
			 Avon and Somerset 80 
			 Bedfordshire 10 
			 Cambridgeshire 32 
			 Cheshire 43 
			 County Durham 20 
			 Cumbria 10 
			 Derbyshire 40 
			 Devon and Cornwall 70 
			 Dorset 20 
			 Dyfed Powys 14 
			 Essex 66 
			 Gloucestershire 21 
			 Greater Manchester 130 
			 Gwent 12 
			 Hampshire 100 
			 Hertfordshire 25 
			 Humberside 50 
			 Kent 50 
			 Lancashire 60 
			 Leicestershire 30 
			 Lincolnshire 42 
			 London area 300 
			 Merseyside 113 
			 Norfolk 40 
			 North Wales 20 
			 North Yorkshire 30 
			 Northamptonshire 30 
			 Northumbria 65 
			 Nottinghamshire 30 
			 South Wales 20 
			 South Yorkshire 72 
			 Staffordshire 36 
			 Suffolk 25 
			 Surrey 22 
			 Sussex 40 
			 Teesside 35 
			 Thames Valley 95 
			 Warwickshire 4 
			 West Mercia 15 
			 West Midlands 25 
			 West Yorkshire 175 
			 Wiltshire 25

Driving Offences: Insurance

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people aged  (a) under 25 years and  (b) 25 years and over with a full UK driving licence in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) the UK were convicted of driving without insurance in each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: Information held centrally by my Department on convictions for motoring offences does not identify whether the offender held a UK or other driving licence (full or provisional). Possession of a licence can only be inferred through the nature of specific offences such as driving while disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence or failing to produce driving licence etc. Information is available at police force area level within England and Wales only.

Electoral Register: Information and Communications Technology

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the budget for the Co-ordinated Online Record of Electors database is for each of the next three years.

Bridget Prentice: The total budget allocated to the Co-ordinated Online Record of Electors (CORE) project during the current spending round is £11.7 million, which consists of £9.7 million capital and £2 million non-capital.

Electoral Register: Information and Communications Technology

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the Co-ordinated Online Record of Electors' database is intended to include electors in Northern Ireland.

Bridget Prentice: The legislation that sets out the scope of the Co-ordinated On-line Record of Electors (CORE) database allows for the inclusion of electors from Northern Ireland. A final decision on the inclusion of Northern Ireland in the CORE project will be made at the end of this year. In order to inform this decision a consultation with stakeholders will take place during the second part of this year.

Electoral Register: Information and Communications Technology

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what process his Department will use to determine who the keeper of the Co-ordinated Online Record of Electors will be; and if he will invite bids from the public and private sector for this role.

Bridget Prentice: The Electoral Administration Act 2006 Chapter 22, Part 1 states at Section 1 (10) 'The person designated as a CORE keeper must be a public authority'. The Electoral Commission is our preferred choice to fulfil this role, and discussions are ongoing with them on this matter.

Electronic Government: Finance

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 29 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1985W, on electronic government: finance, when he plans to make detailed allocations of funding for e-democracy and e-participation projects in the next three years; and what criteria will be used to make those allocations.

Michael Wills: The Ministry of Justice keeps the allocation of funding for projects that promote e-democracy under continuous review. Precise criteria are yet to be finalised, but funding decisions will take account of the degree to which projects encourage innovative approaches to online engagement and embed learning from the government's online engagement experiences.
	We are also in the process of reviewing the lessons we have learnt from previous electronic voting pilots. This will help us to plan our future activities around electronic voting.

Legal Advice and Assistance: Travelling People

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much funding was allocated to legal advice for Travellers in 2007-08 by  (a) his Department and  (b) the Legal Services Commission (i) directly and (ii) in the form of grants to external organisations in 2007-08.

Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice does not directly fund external organisations to provide legal advice to Travellers.
	The Legal Services Commission (LSC) contracts with the Community Law Partnership to provide a helpline for Travellers offering advice on a range of matters. The Travellers' telephone helpline receives funding each year contingent upon the contract holder, the Community Law Partnership, delivering 1,100 hours of work per year. The service has been established since 2004 and forms part of the LSC's national telephone helpline, Community Legal Advice. In 2007-08 the contract for this helpline was worth £56,540 excluding VAT.
	In addition, the Ministry of Justice authorised the LSC to fund a total sum of £31,400 for legal advice and representation for Travellers through the exceptional funding scheme in 2007-08. This was for legal representation at planning inquiries.
	Travellers are also entitled to receive legal aid in other areas of law. However, the LSC does not have readily available information on the number of Travellers who receive such assistance.

National Probation Service for England and Wales: Contracts

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the performance of the Probation Service against its target to subcontract 10 per cent. of services to the voluntary sector in 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The target was for probation areas to sub-contract 5 per cent. in value of services to the private and voluntary sectors in 2006-07, rising to 10 per cent. in value of services in 2007-08. In 2006-07 we estimated, based on self-reporting from probation areas, that overall around 4 per cent. of probation budget was spent on sub-contracted services, although performance varied from area to area. Now that the second reporting period has come to an end we are beginning an assessment of performance against target for 2007-08.
	As part of the transition from probation boards to probation trusts, we are currently consulting on whether to move towards a system of Best Value similar to that used by local government. Copies of the consultation document have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. Copies are also available in the Vote Office and Printed Paper Office, and on the internet at:
	www.justice.gov.uk/publications/consultations.htm
	We are determined to ensure that the voluntary sector plays an increasing role in the delivery of probation services.

Non-Molestation Orders

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have applied for non-molestation orders in each of the last 10 years.

Jack Straw: The following table shows the number of applications for non-molestation orders in county courts in England and Wales by calendar year.
	
		
			   Number of applications 
			 1998 18,153 
			 1999 16,908 
			 2000 15,734 
			 2001(1) 17,590 
			 2002 19,131 
			 2003 18,718 
			 2004 17,594 
			 2005 17,354 
			 2006 16,937 
			 2007(2) (3)16,033 
			 (1) Years 1998 to 2001 are taken from manual returns. (2) Years 2002 to 2007 are taken from the FamilyMan IT system after it was introduced. (3) Provisional but unlikely to change.

Personal Injury

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to publish the Government's response to the consultation on the reform of legal processes relating to personal injury law.

Bridget Prentice: The response to the consultation paper 'Case track limits and the claims process for personal injury claims' is nearing completion and will be published as soon as possible.

Peterborough Prison: Drugs

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will assess the adequacy of the  (a) number and  (b) frequency of mandatory drug tests at HMP Peterborough; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The number and frequency of mandatory drugs tests at HMP Peterborough in 2007-08 are detailed in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of mandatory drug tests 
			   Male  Female 
			  2007   
			 April 85 84 
			 May 88 73 
			 June 89 59 
			 July 84 65 
			 August 94 60 
			 September 96 71 
			 October 92 64 
			 November 93 63 
			 December 94 75 
			
			  2008   
			 January 103 78 
			 February 91 73 
			 March 94 69 
			 Total 1,103 834 
			 Frequency (average) 92 tests per month 70 tests per month

Prison Service: Manpower

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) prison officers,  (b) prisoners and  (c) prisoners per prison officer there were at the end of each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: Information on the number of officer grade staff, prisoners and the number of prisoners per officer across the Prison Service, including both public sector and contracted estates is contained in the following table:
	
		
			  Officers, prisoners and prisoner to officer ratio 
			  31 March  Officers( 1, 4)  Prisoners( 2)  Prisoners per officer( 3) 
			 1997 23,058 56,671 2.4 
			 1998 23,444 63,373 2.5 
			 1999 24,113 65,346 2.5 
			 2000 24,346 65,153 2.5 
			 2001 24,023 64,680 2.5 
			 2002 23,324 67,633 2.7 
			 2003 23,842 71,498 2.7 
			 2004 25,664 73,658 2.8 
			 2005 26,480 74,808 2.8 
			 2006 26,935 76,564 2.8 
			 2007 27,346 78,880 2.9 
			 2008 28,062 80,676 2.9 
			 (1) Includes prison officers, senior officers and principal officers within the public sector Prison Service and custody officers and senior custody officers within contracted establishments, where available.  (2) Average prisoner population across the year has been used, 2007-08 figure is provisional.  (3) Prisoners held at contracted establishments where officer numbers are not available have been excluded from the calculation.  ( 4) Data for Lowdham Grange prior to March 2005 and Rye Hill prior to 2006 are not available due to archiving and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost. Data prior to 2004 are available only for one establishment, Parc, and information prior to 1999 is not available and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Prison Service: Recruitment

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps are being taken by his Department to improve the recruitment and retention of staff to HM Prison Service.

Maria Eagle: In general, retention within the public sector Prison Service is comparatively high. Excluding retirements, the average leaving rate across all grades of staff between April 2007 and March 2008 was 6.3 per cent. This is consistent with the rates for the past seven years.
	In areas where recruitment and retention are more difficult, higher starting salaries may be offered. Local pay allowances also operate across much of the south-east of England.
	Action has been taken recently to respond to the substantial increase in demand for prison officers, generated in particular by the National Offender Management Service's prison capacity building programme. A national prison officer recruitment campaign started on 7 January. It employed a major national advertising campaign, aimed at attracting a much wider range of applicants than had been achieved previously. It also created a new recruitment process, which reducing the time between application and appointment, introduced online application and sifting; and enabled more comprehensive information to be generated, on which to base selection decisions. Over 40,000 applications have been received to date.

Prisoners

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his latest estimate is of the number of hours of purposeful activity undertaken by prisoners per week.

Maria Eagle: The average number of hours of purposeful activity undertaken by prisoners per week during 2007-08 was 25.3 hours. Data are provisional and subject to end year validation.

Prisoners: Ex-servicemen

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of prisoners are former members of the armed services.

David Hanson: Data from nationally representative surveys of some 2,000 sentenced prisoners near release in all prisons in England and Wales conducted in 2001, 2003 and 2004 show the proportion of prisoners who had previously served in the armed forces as 6 per cent., 4 per cent. and 5 per cent. respectively.
	Information relating to prisoners in Scotland and in Northern Ireland is a matter for Scottish Executive and the Northern Ireland Prison Service respectively.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisoners: Mental Health

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department has taken on implementing the recommendations of the HM Inspectorate of Prisons report entitled the Mental Health of Prisoners: Thematic, published in October 2007.

Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. and learned Member for Harborough (Mr. Garnier) on 7 May 2008,  Official Report, column 987W.
	The report 'The mental health of prisoners' thematic (HMIP, 2007) made a number of recommendations about improving mental health care in prisons. The Department of Health is preparing its response to all these recommendations.

Prisoners: Pay

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what factors he took into account when deciding to postpone the change to the rates of payment to prisoners.

Jack Straw: In determining the timing of any increase in prisoners' pay, Ministers considered that it should be more closely tied to developing work on an offender compact. Postponement of an increase in minimum rates from the original planned date has allowed this to be done more effectively.

Prisons: Television

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to the Prison Service was of providing satellite television services in prisons in 2007-08.

Maria Eagle: The Prison Service accounting system does not record expenditure to the level of detail required to answer this question. The Prison Service would incur a disproportionate cost to obtain this information.
	Satellite television is not available to prisoners' in-cell but can be made available in association areas at the discretion of the Governor. A number of establishments have been upgraded for digital television in line with the Government's digital switchover programme. The cost of the digital switchover to date, and the costs of the TV sets used in cells, has been met from the revenue generated by the £1 per week TV rental charge paid by prisoners.

TREASURY

Credit Cards: Proof of Identity

Denis MacShane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to requiring credit cards to carry a photograph of the person they are issued to.

Gareth Thomas: I have been asked to reply.
	No, we have not considered such a requirement but the industry did look at the viability of putting photographs on credit cards as an additional security method. However, it was deemed to only provide a costly short to medium-term solution. With the introduction of chip and PIN, technology-based methods are now used to verify that the card is not being used fraudulently.

Debts

Jo Swinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) average level of household debt and  (b) average level of household debt as a proportion of income was in each region in each of the last five years; and what forecast he has made of average levels of household debt in each region in each of the next five years.

Angela Eagle: The Bank of England collects and publishes statistics on household borrowing and household debt. They do not produce estimates for average household debt but latest aggregate figures show UK household debt rising at its lowest rate for eight years. The full Bank of England dataset can be found at:
	http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/mfsd/iadb/FromShowColumns.asp?Travel=NlxAZxl1x&FromCategoryList=Yes&NewMeaningld=HS&Categld=5&HighlightCatValueDisplav=Household%20sector
	HM Treasury does not produce regional economic forecasts.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on carbon offsetting in each of the last three years; and to which companies payments for carbon offsetting have been made in each such year.

Angela Eagle: In 2006-07, the Treasury paid £14,746.70 to the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund which was the cost of offsetting for flights for ministerial and official travel in 2006-07.
	We are currently working to calculate emissions from flights for 2007-08 financial year, and will be making a payment to offset these through the GCOF in due course.

Departmental Orders and Regulations

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many statutory instruments have been  (a) made and  (b) revoked by Ministers in his Department since 1997.

Angela Eagle: 1,451 statutory instruments were made by the Treasury between 1 January 1997 and 12 May 2008.
	Information relating to the number of instruments which were revoked wholly or in part is not available.

Gallaher

David Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if, following the recent High Court judgement relating to Gallaher and TEL, he will review the evidence presented during the case to assess whether enforcement action for which his Department is responsible should be taken against Gallaher;
	(2)  if, following the recent High Court judgement relating to Gallaher and TEL, he will review the four declarations made by Gallaher between 2004 and 2007 under the provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, relating to trading in Iraq, to assess whether enforcement action for which his Department is responsible should be taken.

Angela Eagle: All information held by HM Revenue and Customs, including information about the affairs of companies, and details of any potential future enforcement action, is subject to the Duty of Confidentiality in the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act (CRCA). Disclosure of information concerning a particular taxpayer would breach this duty.
	The Government are committed to tackling tobacco fraud. As a result of the Government's comprehensive Tackling Tobacco Smuggling strategy, the illicit market share for cigarettes, which was predicted to increase to around a third if action had not been taken, has been cut from 21 per cent. in 2000-01 to around 13 per cent. in 2005-06. During that period, seizures by HMRC of genuine cigarettes produced by UK manufacturers have fallen sharply and have made up a progressively smaller share of total seizures. The latest figures are contained in Section 4 Table 8 of the HMRC autumn performance report published in December last year. This decline is an indicator of the positive effect of the actions taken by HMRC under the Tackling Tobacco Smuggling strategy.

Taxation: Food

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on using taxation policy to  (a) encourage healthy eating and  (b) influence diets; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations from a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such representations.

Welfare Tax Credits

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many children were the subject of payments under the childcare element of the tax credit in each year since the provision was introduced; what the average payment per child was in each such year; what the total expenditure on the childcare element was in each year; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of those eligible who claimed the childcare element in each year.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not available.
	However, table 2.4 of the HMRC publications "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Finalised Awards" for 2003-04 and 2004-05 and 2005-06, provides information on the number of families benefiting from the childcare element in each year. This includes average help with childcare costs for each family and the increase in annualised entitlement due to the childcare element. This information is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Increase in annual entitlement through the childcare element (£ million) 613 706 858 
			 Average help with childcare costs per family(per week) (£) 43.58 44.29 48.45 
		
	
	This information can also be found on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-quarterly-stats.htm
	The same information for 2006-07 is due to be published on May 20 2008.

Welfare Tax Credits: Correspondence

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the latest version of each tax credit  (a) form,  (b) standard award notice and  (c) standard letter sent to claimants.

Jane Kennedy: Guidance notes for the tax credits claim form and renewals forms are available on the HM Revenue and Customs website at
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/forms-leaflets.htm
	together with checklists for the award notice.
	Award notices are tailored to individual circumstances and individually printed as required rather than existing in a standard format.
	HMRC do not have a definitive up to date list of standard letters but estimate that there are currently around 200 letters which are replaced or updated at intervals as HMRC learn more about what information they need to provide to their tax credits customers. It would not be practicable to keep up to date copies of all these items in the House Library.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Casualties

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department received from the US Administration the CD recording of the attack which resulted in the death of Lance Corporal of Horse Matthew Hull; under what conditions the CD was given to the Department; which sections of the Department received copies of the recording; how many copies were received; whether any further copies were made; which individuals have had possession of a copy of the recording; what the security classification was of the recording; and what the consequences of this classification were for its handling and disclosure.

Des Browne: The handling of the CD recording in question is currently being investigated. I will write to the hon. Member when the investigation is complete and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.
	 Substantive answer from Des Browne to  Liam  Fox:
	You will recall that I wrote to you on 31 August 2007 about the investigation into the handling of the US cockpit recording of an attack on a UK light tank in Iraq on 28 March 2003. We have now received the Joint Army/RAF investigation report on the unauthorised disclosure of the cockpit recording and I am therefore able to give you a substantive reply to your Parliamentary Question of 20 February 2007 (Official Report, column 601W).
	In preparation for the Board of Inquiry into the circumstances of the incident, material was requested from the US authorities including the CD recording. A CD of the cockpit recording was received by the Board of Inquiry from the US authorities on 23 April 2004 via the MOD's Permanent Joint Headquarters. The CD was classified "SECRET- US Government Property - Protect from unauthorized disclosure." This classification is equivalent to the UK Secret protective marking and should have ensured that unauthorised access and disclosure did not occur. As the classification level required the recording of the item in Protective Document Registers this should also have ensured that a proper audit trail was maintained. I regret that the appropriate procedures were not followed.
	The investigation found that at least eight copies were made of the CD and used for various purposes including use by the Board of Inquiry, to help with briefing for deploying pilots and forward air controllers, and to assist studies into friendly fire incidents. The sections of the Department which received copies of the CD were HQ LAND, HQ Adjutant General, Air Command and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to identify how many individuals have had possession of a copy of the recording.
	As a result of the failings identified, remedial action is being taken. A new security education programme is being introduced as part of a wider security awareness campaign to ensure that those involved in the handling of classified and sensitive material are aware of the rules and procedures to be followed. An instruction on the release of US (and other third country) material during legal proceedings has also been issued to all MOD personnel to remind them of their responsibilities in respect of the secure handling of protectively marked US material, and we are in the process of establishing new arrangements for the management of Boards of Inquiry and Inquests to ensure a more consistent approach across the Department. The US authorities have been informed of the investigation's findings and of the remedial action taken.
	I can assure you that I take the protection of classified material, especially that entrusted to us by a close ally, very seriously, and the Permanent Secretary has asked the chain of command to consider whether administrative or disciplinary action against any individual is appropriate in light of the findings of the report.

Armed Forces: Finance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much and what proportion of the defence budget for 2007-08 has been allocated to  (a) the Army,  (b) the Royal Navy and  (c) the Royal Air Force.

Des Browne: The budgetary allocations for 2007-08 to Top Level Budget holders which are broadly analogous to the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force can be found in Central Government Supply Estimates 2007-08—Spring Supplementary Estimates (HC273) respectively under the following headings: Fleet; Commander-in-Chief Land Command and Adjutant General and Commander-in-Chief Air. The relevant extract is reproduced as follows:
	
		
			   Spending in DEL central Government spending   
			  TLB (as described in spring supplementaries)  Net total resources (£000)  Capital (£000)  Non budget  n et total resources (£000)  Total (£000) 
			 Fleet 2,204,982 3,533 — 2,208,515 
			 Commander in Chief Air Command 2,647,231 991 — 2,648,222 
			 Commander in Chief Land Command 5,729,900 156,467 — 5,886,367 
			 Adjutant General 791,405 -11,827 9,314 788,892 
			 Army ( C in C Land + AG) 6,521,305 144,640 9,314 6,675,259 
		
	
	The remainder of the defence budget is allocated to organisations that support the three services. It is not possible to break down their allocations by individual service.

Armed Forces: Medical Services

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration is being given to the use of the SeQual Eclipse Oxygen System in British ambulance systems in theatre.

Bob Ainsworth: There are no plans to replace the current oxygen system used by battlefield ambulances deployed on operations as this meets our present requirements. However, we do monitor developing technology for future applications.

Armed Forces: Medical Services

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many consultants in infectious disease and tropical medicine were retained by the British military establishment at the latest date for which figures are available.

Derek Twigg: Currently the Defence Medical Services have one consultant in infectious disease and one in microbiology/communicable disease control. In addition, there are four medical officers undergoing higher professional training (specialist registrars) in various aspects of infectious disease.
	The Army ensures that all its young doctors attend a tropical medicine course which ensures a level of knowledge well above that within the NHS.
	The MOD has also introduced funding for the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene which is now taken by most trainees in all branches of internal medicine, giving greatly enhanced skills in this area.

Armed Forces: Publications

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of the joint service publications  (a) JSP 383,  (b) JSP 398,  (c) JSP 400 and  (d) JSP 448.

Derek Twigg: The information is as follows:
	 JSP 383: Joint Service Manual on Law of Armed Conflict
	This is a commercial publication, published by the Oxford University Press, from whom copies may be obtained. The hardback edition (ISBN-13: 978-0-19-924454-6) was published on 1 July 2004 and is priced at £131.00. A paper back edition (ISBN-13: 978-0-19-928728-4) was published on 28 July 2005 and is priced at £39.95.
	For copyright reasons there is no public electronic version. There have been two amendments since the original publication date, and I shall arrange for copies of these amendments to be placed in the Library of the House.
	 JSP 398: United Kingdom Compendium of national Rules of Engagement
	I am withholding this publication as its release would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces.
	 JSP 400: Disclosure of Information
	This publication is in the course of revision. I shall place a redacted copy in the Library of the House.
	 JSP 448: Guide to Official Service Residence (OSR) Management & Expenditure
	A new version of this publication was issued in February 2008. I shall place a copy of it in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces: Publications

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of the joint service publications  (a) JSP 523,  (b) JSP 524,  (c) JSP 532 and (d) JSP 538.

Derek Twigg: The information is as follows:
	 JSP 523: "A Reservist's Guide to Employment Issues"
	This publication is now out of date and no longer in print. It provides reservists with a basic guide to their rights under employment legislation, and to act as a guide for them in getting the support of their employer for both their training and deployment in the event that they are mobilised. It was first published in March 2003, and has not been amended or changed since. It is currently being re-written to take account of changes and developments in employment law. The new version is expected to be published later in the year. I shall place a copy of the most recent edition in the Library of the House.
	 JSP 524: Catalogue of Joint Army/RAF, Joint Service, and NATO publications
	I shall place a copy of this publication in the Library of the House.
	 JSP 532: "Guidance for Reservists Returning to Civilian Employment"
	This booklet is a guide to explain to a reservist what their rights are when returning from a period of mobilised service, how to protect those rights, and how to exercise them should the need arise. It was published in 2003 and still in use. It is available via the MOD's SaBRE website:
	http://www.sabre.mod.ulc/files/pdf/SaBRE_JSP532_publications.pdf
	I shall place a copy of this publication in the Library of the House.
	 JSP 538: Regulation of Nuclear Weapon Issue Programme
	I shall place a redacted copy of this publication in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces: Schools

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many teachers  (a) were recruited to and (b) left Service Children's Education in each year since 2001.

Derek Twigg: Due to changes introduced during 2003-04 in respect of the processing and recording of Service Children's Education teacher recruitment I am unable to provide accurate figures for the years 2001-03, without incurring disproportionate cost. I can however confirm that for the years 2004-07 the following teaching staff were recruited and left Service Children's Education:
	
		
			   Numbers recruited  Numbers left 
			 2004 136 84 
			 2005 106 101 
			 2006 72 89 
			 2007 64 90

Armed Forces: Training

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Fighting in Built-Up Areas training facilities there are.

Bob Ainsworth: There are eight Fighting in Built Up Areas training facilities at the following locations:
	
		
			  Facility  Area  County 
			 Rype Village Lydd Kent 
			 Longmoor Urban Training Complex Longmoor Hampshire 
			 Copehill Down Salisbury Plain Wiltshire 
			 Caerwent Chepstow Glamorgan 
			 Cilieni Village Sennybridge Powys 
			 Edingham FIBUA Site Dalbeattie Dumfries 
			 Whinney Hill Catterick North Yorkshire 
			 Eastmere Village Stanford TA Norfolk

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 29 April 2008,  Official Report, column 266W, on armoured fighting vehicles, how many days there were between the first and last shipping dates for the  (a) Mastiff and  (b) Bulldog to (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan.

Bob Ainsworth: The information requested is as follows:
	 Mastiff
	 Iraq
	First shipment 4 December 2006
	Final shipment 13 April 2008
	496 days.
	 Afghanistan
	First shipment 19 March 2007
	Final shipment 9 November 2007
	245 days.
	 Bulldog (only issued to Iraq)
	First shipment 9 January 2007
	Final shipment 10 May 2007
	122 days.

Army: Recruitment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officer applications were received by the Army in each year since 2001.

Bob Ainsworth: The Army has received the following officer applications since 2001:
	
		
			  Financial year  Number 
			 2001-02 1,893 
			 2002-03 1,984 
			 2003-04 2,265 
			 2004-05 1,795 
			 2005-06 1,913 
			 2006-07 1,845 
			 2007-08 1,473

Bombs

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which UK military engagements in which theatres cluster munitions have been deployed in the last 20 years; and what estimate he has made of the amount of unexploded British ordnance left in each of those theatres.

Bob Ainsworth: UK forces have employed munitions carrying more than 10 sub-munitions in three operations since 1988: Operation Granby in Kuwait/Iraq in 1991; Operation Agricola in Serbia/Kosovo in 1999; and Operation Telic in Iraq in 2003.
	Since then, military and civilian organisations have been engaged in clearing unexploded ordnance used by all parties in these conflicts. It is impracticable to provide an accurate estimate of how much progress has now been made in disposing of unexploded British ordnance originally fired by UK forces that remains in each of these theatres.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect on the UK's rapid reaction capability of deploying the Spearhead Land Element in support of the pan-Balkans Ready Battalion Operational Reserve Force to Kosovo.

Bob Ainsworth: It is planned that 2 Rifles will deploy to Kosovo as the NATO Operational Reserve Force by 31 May 2008. They will not be deploying as the Spearhead Land Element; 3 Scots will replace them in that role before 31 May 2008. With a variety of force elements remaining assigned to the versatile Joint Rapid Reaction Force pool, the UK retains the ability to respond to both domestic and international contingent commitments.

Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the terms of reference and objectives issued to those responsible for achieving commodity cluster co-locations of the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency and other commodities at Ensleigh.

Bob Ainsworth: The collocation of the Defence Clothing Integrated Project Team (DC IPT) alongside other elements of the Commodities Cluster is part of the wider DE and S collocation project and supports the strategic intent to achieve business improvements by focusing acquisition related activities at Abbey Wood by 2012. The objectives for this overarching programme are well documented with all moves being conducted to align with this strategic intent. A guide to collocation for team leaders has been developed and outlines the key roles and responsibilities required and the actions to be completed to achieve successful team relocation. I shall place a copy of this document in the Library of the House.

Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the analysis carried out relating to the setting up of a co-located commodity cluster at Ensleigh;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library the study reports commissioned to assess the economics and efficiencies arising from the relocation of the Defence Clothing and Textile Agency from Caversfield to Ensleigh.

Bob Ainsworth: I shall place a copy of the relevant extracts of the internally approved investment appraisal for bringing forward the move of Defence Clothing Integrated Project Team (DC IPT) in the Library of the House. This summarises the analysis undertaken including the assessment of savings associated with the move of the team to collocate with other elements of the commodities cluster in Ensleigh.

Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of the co-located commodity cluster operating from the three sites at Ensleigh, Foxhill and West Moors.

Bob Ainsworth: The collocation of the Commodities Cluster will be in two phases; the first being the merger of medical and general stores at Foxhill in Bath with the collocation of food and clothing at Ensleigh, also in Bath. The second phase will see the Commodities Cluster as a whole (including any appropriate elements from West Moors) forming up at Abbey Wood in 2011. These plans have been assessed as part of the Business Case for relocating DC IPT to Ensleigh, which included a full economic assessment to compare the relocation with retaining posts in their existing locations. This showed a saving of over £50 million compared to retaining the Commodities Cluster in their existing locations.

Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of relocating the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency from Ensleigh to Abbey Wood by 2012.

Bob Ainsworth: The personnel costs of moving the Defence Clothing Integrated Project Team (DC IPT) from Ensleigh to Abbey Wood will be minimal as the Travel to Work areas of the two sites significantly overlap. There will be some costs associated with moving technical equipment, estimated at about £600,000. The move of DC IPT is part of the wider D E and S Collocation Project which seeks to focus acquisition related activity at Abbey Wood by 2012 and is expected to save at least £200 million over 25 years. The Collocation Project has already successfully moved 1,000 posts directly supporting the Front Line from Andover to Abbey Wood.

Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what human resources assessment he has made of the  (a) risk and  (b) impact upon staff of the proposed sequence of relocation of the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency from (i) Caversfield to Ensleigh and (ii) Ensleigh to Abbey Wood.

Bob Ainsworth: The strategic intent of D E and S to focus acquisition related activities at Abbey Wood by 2012, of which the relocation from Caversfield of Defence Clothing IPT (DC IPT) forms a part, will require the relocation of significant numbers of posts to Bristol. The Project has already successfully moved over 1,000 posts from Andover to Abbey Wood. The risks and potential impacts on staff are therefore well understood and mitigation strategies, which have been proven to be effective, will be put in place for the DC IPT relocation. This includes the provision of direct support to staff and their families, comprehensive and flexible allowance packages and the redeployment and re-training of existing staff in the new location. The impact upon staff of the onward move from Ensleigh to Abbey Wood is expected to be minimal as the Travel to Work areas of the two sites significantly overlap. Staff are therefore expected to move home only once to cover both office moves.

Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the improvements in service anticipated as a result of the move of the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency to a co-located organisation at Ensleigh.

Bob Ainsworth: For the Commodities Cluster, of which DC IPT forms part, the collocation to Abbey Wood by 2012 means that it will be possible to adopt a new business model with leaner, more effective processes and supply chain which will be supported by an improved, centralised pool of expertise across the Cluster. The ability to flex resources to meet peak workloads will be enhanced as will access to a wider range of support functions, all available within a single location. This would not be possible if DC IPT were to remain at Caversfield.

Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the analysis carried out into  (a) deficiencies and  (b) changing demands from front line commands relating to the proposed relocation of the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency.

Bob Ainsworth: The strategic intent of DE and S to focus acquisition-related activities at Abbey Wood by 2012, of which the relocation from Caversfield of Defence Clothing IPT (integrated project team) forms a part, will require the relocation of significant number of posts to Bristol The project has already successfully moved over 1,000 posts from Andover to Abbey Wood. Support to operations now and in the future remains paramount. Understanding the requirements of the armed forces and how these could vary is ongoing normal business and conducted using a range of means by any IPT directly supporting the front line and, as such, separate documentation is not available.

Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason the proposed date for the transfer of the Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency from Caversfield to Ensleigh has been moved from 2010 to 2009.

Bob Ainsworth: The move of Defence Clothing IPT (DC IPT) from Caversfield is part of a wider DE and S Collocation Project, which aims to focus acquisition-related activities at Abbey Wood by 2012. The project has already successfully moved over 1,000 posts which directly support the front line from Andover to Abbey Wood. The change to the DC IPT move timetable is intended to mitigate the risks to business continuity associated with the original time scale; namely that key skills from the team would potentially have been lost in the run up to the relocation date in 2010. Moving posts sooner will assist in retention of staff and will also facilitate earlier recruitment of staff in the south west.

Defence Estates: Sales

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what property in  (a) Wales,  (b) Northern Ireland,  (c) Scotland and  (d) England was sold by Defence Estates in each of the last five years; what the division of receipts in respect of each sale was to (i) the Welsh Assembly Government, (ii) the Northern Ireland Executive, (iii) the Scottish Executive and (iv) other budgets other than Defence Estates; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Records of individual property sales broken down by country in each of the last five years are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	In line with HM Treasury guidance, receipts retained by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) from the sale of property are reinvested by the Department in key priorities. They form part of the defence budget and are not directly allocated to either devolved administrations or other parts of the MOD.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on carbon offsetting in each of the last three years; and to which companies payments for carbon offsetting have been made in each such year.

Derek Twigg: Since 2006, the MOD has offset non-operational official and ministerial flights, booked through the Head Office Travel Service, through the Government's Carbon Offsetting Fund (GCOF) managed by EEA Fund Management. For the year 2006-07, the MOD paid the total offsetting cost of £180,599.38 to the GCOF.

Departmental Translation Services

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent by his Department on translation and interpretation services in 2007-08, broken down by language.

Bob Ainsworth: The staff costs of the central MOD team that provides translation and interpreting services was £598,397 for financial year 2007-08. A breakdown of its work by language could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	In addition to this amount, the following was spent on centrally contracted-out translation services during FY 2007-08 (by language):
	
		
			   £ 
			 Russian to English 5,325.00 
			 Farsi to English 1,058.00 
			 English to Russian 959.00 
			 English to French 693.00 
			 Czech to English 518.00 
			 English to Welsh 372.00 
			 English to Turkish 227.00 
			 English to Chinese 167.50 
			 English to Arabic 165.50 
			 Somali to English 150.00 
			 French to English 116.50 
			 English to Dari 113.50 
			 Arabic to English 90.00 
			 English to Spanish 75.50 
			 Italian to English 57.50 
		
	
	And the following was spent on centrally contracted-out interpreting services during FY 2007-08 (by language)
	
		
			   £ 
			 French 35,000.31 
			 Nepalese 32,993.98 
			 German 14,175.81 
			 Fijian 9,341.28 
			 Russian 6,124.81 
			 Spanish 5,827.66 
			 Japanese 4,414.83 
			 Chinese 3,458.84 
			 Malaysian 2,896.79 
			 Italian 2,739.19 
			 Turkish 2,499.05 
			 Arabic 1,934.87 
			 Ukrainian 1,466.84 
			 Bulgarian 683.50 
			 Total 123,557.76 
		
	
	Details of services procured outside of these central arrangements, including most translation/interpreting work in theatres of deployed operations, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft: Procurement

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what lessons have been learned from the procurement process for the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA); and what steps will be taken to retain the expertise and experience gained by the FSTA acquisition team for use in future major procurement programmes.

Bob Ainsworth: Following the successful placement of the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) PFI contract, we are conducting a Learning From Experience exercise to identify relevant lessons arising from this innovative project. The Department aims to employ the skills honed in this acquisition on other projects.

Kosovo: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what type of helicopters will support British forces operating in Kosovo.

Bob Ainsworth: UK forces in Kosovo may draw from helicopter capability provided by other nations as part of the coalition effort should it be required. This is normal practice. The number and type of helicopters used would depend upon the requirements of the particular situation arising during this principally land- based deployment.

Lynx Helicopters

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average age of the Lynx helicopter fleet will be in 2014.

Bob Ainsworth: Of the current Lynx helicopter fleet that are expected to be in service in 2014 the average age will be 31 years nine months (as at January 2014).

Married Quarters: Sales

David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Ministry of Defence houses were sold in each of the last 10 years.

Derek Twigg: Details of the number of service family accommodation (SFA) properties sold in Northern Ireland are not held centrally so will take a little more time to collate. I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
	Records of other SFA sold in financial year 1997-98 to 1999-2000 no longer exist. However, SFA properties sold in each financial year since FY 2000-01 are set out as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  SFA sold 
			 2000-01 316 
			 2001-02 250 
			 2002-03 336 
			 2003-04 208 
			 2004-05 62 
			 2005-06 281 
			 2006-07 365 
		
	
	 Substantive answer from Derek Twigg to  David  Marshall:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 19 October 2007, (Official Report, column 974W) about the number of Ministry of Defence houses sold in each of the last 10 years in Northern Ireland. I apologise that it has taken so long to reply to you.
	I can confirm that the number of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) sold in Northern Ireland during the given period is:
	
		
			  Financial year  Number of SFA sold 
			 1997-98 2 
			 1998-99 1 
			 1999-2000 0 
			 2000-01 0 
			 2001-02 0 
			 2002-03 0 
			 2003-04 17 
			 2004-05 86 
			 2005-06 92 
			 2006-07 0 
			 2007-08 127 
		
	
	Please accept my apologies for the lateness of writing but this was due to an administrative error.

Medals: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) veterans' badges and  (b) Bevin Boys badges have been awarded to people in Warrington North constituency.

Derek Twigg: Records based on postcodes show that a total of 926 HM Veterans lapel badges and five Bevin Boys Veterans badges have been issued to residents in the Warrington area. It is not possible to identify which applications are specifically from the Warrington North constituency.

Navy: EU Action

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what Royal Navy assets will participate in the EU review of naval forces in Toulon in October 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: There are currently no plans for any Royal Navy assets to participate in any EU review of naval forces in Toulon in October.

RAF Innsworth: NATO Rapid Reaction Corps

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to  (a) decide on and  (b) announce the timetable for the move of HQ Allied Rapid Reaction Corps to Innsworth in Gloucestershire.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1604W.

Royal Ordnance Factories

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many Royal Ordnance factories closed in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many Royal Ordnance factories there were in each year since 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: In 1987 Royal Ordnance plc was sold to British Aerospace (now BAE Systems plc), with the exception of Royal Ordnance Factory Leeds which had been acquired by Vickers Defence systems in 1986.
	Since 1987, MOD has had no responsibility for the former Royal Ordnance Factories and any decision by BAE Systems to rationalise its business by closure or sale of its ordnance factories has been a commercial one for the company.

Sandhurst Foundation: Finance

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department provided to the Sandhurst Foundation in each year since 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: The Sandhurst Foundation was established in 2004 as the Royal Military Academy's 'Alumni' Association for past and present Army officers who trained at Sandhurst. The Foundation is funded entirely through private sources. Foundation staff do, however, have the use of two surplus offices at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS), which are provided with telephones and a single MOD computer.

Service Personnel and Veterans Agency: Location

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what steps he will take to  (a) minimise the potential for disruption and  (b) retain (i) skills and (ii) service levels in relation to the proposed re-location of the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the business case for the re-location of the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department associated with relocating the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  when he plans to make a statement on the proposed relocation of the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency.

Derek Twigg: I will write shortly to the hon. Member regarding my decision about the proposed relocation of the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency functions undertaken currently at Innsworth Station.

Warships: Procurement

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on competitive tendering for  (a) warship and  (b) Royal Fleet Auxiliary refits; and for what reason only one bidder is being allowed to enter the reverse auction for the refit of HMS Scott.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 1 May 2008
	Competition policy for refits and docking periods (upkeeps) for legacy complex warships was suspended in 2006. Since then, the Surface Ship Support Project has been exploring a wide range of support options to deliver sustainable, efficient and affordable support for these vessels.
	For Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships, one-off competed contracts are currently placed for upkeep work. However, in order to achieve greater value for money, a Through Life Support Strategy has been developed that will result in contracts being placed based on a five-year maintenance cycle. These contracts are being competed and are due to be placed by late summer 2008.
	For HMS Scott's next docking period, a competition was initiated with the expectation that the tendering process would culminate in a reverse auction. Four companies were invited to tender in late 2007, but two subsequently withdrew. Following a full evaluation of the two remaining tenders, only one was compliant. Since at least two compliant tenders are required to proceed with a reverse auction, it is intended to complete the competition process with the remaining tenderer alone.

World War II: Medals

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will consider issuing a campaign medal to those who served in Bomber Command in the Second World War; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 4 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1042W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Wright).

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Support Agency: ICT

David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases are being processed manually by the Child Support Agency because of technical problems with the new computer system.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 29 April 2008
	The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Susan Park, dated 13 May 2008:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As the Chief Executive is currently on leave, I am responding, with his authority, on his behalf.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases are currently being processed manually by the Child Support Agency because of technical problems with the new computer system (202659)
	The Agency's clerical caseload is currently 36,900 cases which is less than 3% of the total caseload. The latest figures relating to clerical cases are routinely published in the Child Support Agency's Quarterly Summary Statistics in Table 20 and further information on clerical cases is set out in the accompanying notes to the table. The latest copy is available in the House of Commons library or via the internet at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/child_support/csa_quarterly_mar08.asp

Child Support Agency: Telephone Services

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average length of telephone calls to the Child Support Agency offices in  (a) Liverpool,  (b) Birkenhead,  (c) Dudley,  (d) Belfast,  (e) Falkirk,  (f) Plymouth and  (g) Hastings was in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 25 April 2008
	The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Susan Park, dated 13 May 2008:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As the Chief Executive is currently on annual leave, I am responding, with his authority, on his behalf.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of telephone calls to the Child Support Agency offices in  (a) Liverpool  (b) Birkenhead  (c) Dudley  (d) Belfast  (e) Falkirk  (f) Plymouth and  (g) Hastings was in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
	Such information as is available is included in the attached tables. The tables show the average length of call and the average speed to answer the call by Agency office. Information on telephone calls to Agency offices prior to April 2006 is not available.
	Further information on the Agency's telephony performance is available in Table 16 of the Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics, a copy of which can be found in the House of Commons library or on the internet at the following link:
	www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/child_support/csa_quarterly_mar08.asp
	The Agency has shown significant and sustained improvement in telephony performance under the Operational Improvement Plan. In the year ending March 2008, the Agency received 5,369,000 calls from clients and answered 98% of calls available to be answered, with an average waiting time of twenty seconds.
	
		
			  Average length of call and time taken to answer by Agency office, Belfast, Birkenhead, Dudley, Falkirk 
			  2006-07 
			  Centre  Call duration  Time to answer 
			 Belfast 03:35 00:34 
			 Birkenhead 04:17 00:28 
			 Dudley 04:00 00:30 
			 Falkirk 04:34 00:27 
			 Hastings 04:20 00:35 
			 Plymouth 04:14 00:31 
			 Liverpool 02:39 00:14 
		
	
	
		
			  2007-08 
			  Centre  Call duration  Time to answer 
			 Belfast 03:36 00:22 
			 Birkenhead 04:07 00:24 
			 Dudley 03:52 00:20 
			 Falkirk 04:20 00:23 
			 Hastings 04:32 00:23 
			 Plymouth 04:01 00:23 
			 Liverpool 02:19 00:12 
			  Notes: 1. Information includes old system (CSCS) and new system (CS2) calls. 2. Average length of call by office is not available prior to April 2006. 3. Average length of call includes inbound talk time and time on hold. 4. Time to answer starts once the call enters a queue and is awaiting a response by a member of staff. New system (CS2) calls enter a queue once the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) process is complete. IVR refers to the automated touch tone part of the process where customers enter their details via the telephone key pad. Once callers have cleared this part of the process, they enter a queue to be answered by a member of staff. There is no IVR process on the old system.

Departmental Energy

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to reduce its energy consumption in the last 12 months; and what his Department's expenditure on energy was in  (a) the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available and  (b) the immediately preceding 12 months.

Anne McGuire: The Department has implemented a number of initiatives to reduce energy consumption. Our estate partner, Land Securities Trillium, is incentivised to reduce energy consumption by 2 per cent. per annum as part of a shared savings mechanism.
	There has been a comprehensive campaign to encourage energy reductions, covering both technical and "housekeeping" measures across the estate. These include the implementation of automatic ('Smart') meters to provide half-hourly monitoring of consumption, to enable analysis of trends and resolution of any issues the day after they arise, and to improve reporting to staff. Initial estate-wide "spend to save" investments on energy saving devices are nearing completion and further site-specific measures are now under consideration. Figures for 2007-08 are still being gathered, but significant savings are estimated as a result of these initiatives.
	Expenditure for the last couple of years is given in the following table:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005-06 29,623,598 
			 2006-07 32,675,800

Departmental Freedom of Information

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many freedom of information requests made to his Department were  (a) answered (i) within 20 days, (ii) within 40 days, (iii) within 60 days, (iv) after 60 days,  (b) not answered and  (c) answered citing an exemption in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as a reason not to provide the requested information in each year since the Act came into force.

Anne McGuire: The Ministry of Justice has published two annual reports containing statistical information on freedom of information requests received by monitored bodies (including central Government Departments) in 2005 and 2006. These reports can be found at the following address:
	http://www.dca.gov.uklfoilreference/statisticsAndReports.htm
	The 2007 annual report is currently being drafted for publication in June 2008. However, statistics on requests received in each quarter of 2007 have been published and can be found via the MOJ website:
	http://www.Justice.gov.uklpublications/freedomofinformationquarterly.htm
	The Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires public bodies to respond to written requests within 20 working days of receipt, but allows additional time for the consideration of the public interest in disclosing the requested information.
	The published reports provide statistics on the number of "non-routine" requests received during each period where: an initial response was provided within 20 working days; an initial response was given outside this time but a public interest test extension had been applied; an initial response was given outside this time and no public interest test extension was applied, and where no initial response had been given at the time the statistics were collected.
	The 2006 annual report provides statistics on the duration of the public interest test extensions in that year. Corresponding statistics for 2007 will be available when the 2007 annual report is published.
	Information requests where deadlines were extended beyond 40 days is not collected in the form requested; however the proportion of resolvable requests the Department answered "in time" (i.e. meeting the deadline or with a permitted extension) in 2007 was 87 per cent.
	For 2005 and 2006, the reports show the number of requests received by the Department which were withheld, either in full or in part, where an FOI exemption or EIR exception was applied. For 2007, the number of such requests was 125, based on aggregated quarterly statistics from 2007. Requests withheld solely under the exemption applicable to "information available by other means" are not included; statistics on these are not collected centrally because they are dealt with as routine business.

Departmental ICT

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he has taken to ensure that counterfeit routers and counterfeit other hardware are not utilised in his Department's computer networks.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions has its IT services delivered via an infrastructure that is managed by leading IT suppliers. The Department has rigorous procurement policies and processes, to source IT equipment from recognised and trusted suppliers that meet defined supply and security criteria. All components are supplied direct to either BT or EDS from their original manufacturers or their nominated and approved resellers and are individually certified as authentic.
	The Department and its suppliers also use rigorous change control procedures which are compliant with recognised industry standards to control installation and change to the IT infrastructure.

Departmental NDPBs

David Curry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were serving on the boards of the non-departmental public bodies which his Department sponsors at the latest date for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 6 May 2008
	The Cabinet Office publication Public bodies 2007 lists the number of people serving on the boards of public bodies as at 31 March 2007. These figures are broken down by individual Departments. Public bodies 2007 can be downloaded from:
	www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/public/bodies.asp
	Copies are also available in the Library of the House.

Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the impact of shared spaces on disabled people, with particular regard to visually impaired people.

James Purnell: I have had no discussions with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on this specific issue. However, the Department for Communities and Local Government is represented on the cross-ministerial group on "Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People", which meets regularly under the chairmanship of the Minister for Disabled People.
	The Department for Transport and the Department for Communities and Local Government have been working together on the issue of shared spaces, and shared surfaces, and have produced guidance: the Manual for Streets, which was published in 2007.
	Later this year, the Department for Transport will start a two-year contract to address the issues faced by visually-impaired people in negotiating shared spaces and shared surfaces. The aim is to produce a comprehensive guidance document outlining various techniques which can be used to help visually-impaired people navigate their way around these environments.

Employment: Disabled

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he has taken to measure the effectiveness of specialist disability employment service providers from all sectors working with specific impairment groups, including deaf people, under the  (a) Pathways to Work,  (b) Flexible New Deal,  (c) New Deal for Disabled People,  (d) Remploy and  (e) Workstep schemes.

Anne McGuire: All Department for Work and Pensions contracts with employment service providers, including specialist disability employment service providers, contain the performance standards required. Professional contract managers monitor the extent to which these performance standards are met, and address any performance issues through established processes.
	Providers of specialist disability employment services are also subject to Ofsted inspection and independent audit.
	Remploy's financial and operational performance is regularly reviewed as part of the Department for Work and Pensions' sponsorship role of the company which is a non-departmental public body.

Family Resources Survey

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the next Family Resources Survey will be published.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 21 April 2008
	This publication has been delayed because we have introduced additional validation and quality assurance checks of the data set. It will now be published on 2 May 2008. The date of publication has been announced on the National Statistics website, in line with the National Statistics code of practice.

Industrial Health and Safety: Construction

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many construction industry businesses were  (a) prosecuted and  (b) fined for breaches of health and safety regulations in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) the UK in each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: The following table shows the number of separate cases taken by HSE(1 )against employers or individuals in the construction industry. These cases may include a number of separate charges. If an employer or individual was prosecuted on more than one occasion, these will be counted separately in the table.
	Numbers for the Jarrow constituency cannot be separately identified. In the period shown, there were two prosecution cases in South Tyneside. Both were decided in 1996-97, and both resulted in a fine. These two cases related to the same set of circumstances, but separate cases were pursued against the company and a director. The figures for the North East are for the Government Office region. The HSE does not enforce in Northern Ireland, so the national total shown is for Great Britain.
	(1) The Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998 allocate enforcement of health and safety in the construction industry to HSE.
	
		
			  Prosecution cases taken by HSE against employers or individuals in construction (SIC45) 1996-97 to 2006-07 
			   Year case was decided 
			  Region  1996-97  1997-98  1998-99  1999- 20 00  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07( 1) 
			 North East
			 Total 10 9 13 9 9 11 7 16 13 11 17 
			  Of which:
			 resulted in fine 8 9 12 8 8 11 7 16 11 10 15 
			 GB
			 Total 274 375 370 388 363 299 302 279 266 213 228 
			  Of which:
			 resulted in fine 241 332 334 319 327 273 269 246 238 182 186 
			 (1) Provisional

Industrial Health and Safety: Construction

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many construction industry site visits were carried out by Health and Safety Executive inspectors in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK in each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: This information is not available in the form requested without disproportionate cost.

Jobcentre Plus: Fishburn Hedges

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what payments  (a) Jobcentre Plus and  (b) the Pension Protection Fund made to Fishburn Hedges in each of the last five years; and on what date and for what purpose the payment was made in each case.

Anne McGuire: The information available with regard to spend with PR Agency Fishburn Hedges by  (a) Jobcentre Plus and  (b) the Pension Protection Fund is as follows:
	 (a) The following table sets out the total payments made to Fishburn Hedges by Jobcentre Plus over the last five years. The payments were in respect of various customer focused programmes targeting specific groups such as lone parents or driving customer outcomes, for example through the Local Employment Partnership scheme.
	
		
			  April to March each year  £ 
			 2003-04 (1)— 
			 2004-05 (1)— 
			 2005-06 299,902 
			 2006-07 188,000 
			 2007-08 502,808 
			 (1) No contract or spend. 
		
	
	No further spend has been identified and a more detailed breakdown of the programmes would incur a disproportionate cost.
	 (b) The following table sets out the total payments made to Fishburn Hedges by the Pension Protection Fund over the last five years. The payments were in respect of strategic public affairs and communications advice, including advice on schemes entering compensation and the implementation of the Pension Protection Levies.
	
		
			  April to March each year  £ 
			 2003-04 (1)— 
			 2004-05 (1)— 
			 2005-06 127,215 
			 2006-07 71,345 
			 2007-08 25,780 
			 (1) No contract or spend. 
		
	
	No further spend has been identified and a more detailed breakdown of the programmes would incur a disproportionate cost.

Jobseekers Allowance

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of jobseekers allowance were recorded as having been on holiday in each year since 1997.

James Plaskitt: The information requested is not available.

Occupational Health

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the incidence of self-reported work related ill-health in each year since 2004; and what progress is being made towards meeting this element of his Department's Public Service Agreement target 5.

Anne McGuire: The following table sets out the published statistics for the years 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07. The provisional figures for 2007-08 will be published in autumn 2008.
	
		
			  Estimated incidence rates of self-reported work-related ill health 
			   Rate per 100, 000 employed in last 12 months 
			95  per cent.  C.I.( 1) 
			   Central  Lower  Upper 
			 2004-05 1,850 1,730 1,960 
			 2005-06 1,640 1,530 1,750 
			 2006-07 2,090 1,970 2,220 
			 (1) 95 per cent. confidence interval, the range within which we are 95 per cent. confident that the true value lies in the absence of bias. 
		
	
	The PSA target five is to
	"By 2008, improve health and safety outcomes in Great Britain through progressive improvements in the control of risk in the workplace".
	The PSA target is measured against six sub-targets, including one for ill health incidence—a 6 per cent. reduction in the 2004-05 baseline. The Health and Safety Executive publishes a statistics progress report annually. The latest report for the period 2006-07 indicates that for ill health and self reported HSE is not on track to meet the PSA target.

Pensioners: Overseas Residence

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of retired UK citizens living in countries in respect of which no uprating of pensions agreement has been made.

Mike O'Brien: Our records do not differentiate UK citizens from other citizens in receipt of a UK state pension.
	The latest estimate of the number of UK state pensions paid to pensioners living in frozen rate countries is approximately 530,000.
	 Source
	March 2007 Retirement Pension and Widows Benefit administrative data, 5 per cent. sample

Pensioners: Overseas Residence

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of uprating pensions for retired UK citizens living abroad.

Mike O'Brien: The UK state pension is uprated for UK pensioners living overseas where there is a reciprocal social security agreement or a legal requirement to do so.
	The latest estimate to bring all frozen rate UK state pensions up to the current rate is around £440 million and this would be an ongoing cost increasing year on year.
	 Source
	March 2007 Retirement Pension and Widows Benefit administrative data, 5 per cent. sample

Poverty: Disabled

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans his Department has to include the additional costs of living with disability in official calculations and indicators of poverty.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 23 April 2008
	We are committed to tackling all aspects of disability poverty and have already made considerable progress. The number of disabled individuals in households with an income below 60 per cent. of median on an After Housing Cost basis fell by 500,000 in Great Britain between 1998-99 and 2005-06. On a Before Housing Cost basis the number of disabled individuals in households with an income below 60 per cent. of median fell by around 100,000 over the same period.
	In 2005 the Department's report 'Review of existing research on the extra costs of disability'(1) found that all studies conducted to date have concluded that there are extra costs incurred by disabled people. However, measuring these extra costs is conceptually and methodologically difficult and there is disagreement over what constitutes the extra costs disabled people face. As a result the existing evidence supporting estimates of the extra costs of disability varies widely.
	In light of these findings the Department has no further work planned in this area at present, but we will continue to keep abreast of developments.
	(1) Working Paper No. 21, September 2005:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/WP21.pdf
	 Notes
	1. Data are taken from the Households Below Average Income series 2005-06.
	2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100,000.
	3. The definition of disability used by HBAI changed in 2002-03. It is not possible to separate out definitional and real effects. For 1998-99, available data exclude Northern Ireland, therefore changes across Great Britain between 1998-99 and 2005-06 have been presented.

Social Security Benefits: Foreigners

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many non-UK citizens claimed benefits in each year since 1997, broken down by benefit claimed; and how many of them were living in the UK in each case.

James Plaskitt: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 28 January 2008,  Official Report, column 65W.

UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the compatibility of UK legislation with the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 8 May 2008
	I refer my hon. Friend to my written statement of 6 May 2008,  Official Report, column 28WS—"UN Convention on Disability Rights".

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments: Crimes of Violence

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many accident and emergency staff in England were victims of assault while on duty in each of the last three years;
	(2)  how many hospital staff in England were hospitalised as a result of assault while on duty in each of the last three years.

Ann Keen: Since 2004-05, the NHS Security Management Service has collected information on the number of physical assaults reported against national health service staff in England.
	Information on the number of assaults against accident and emergency staff and on how many hospital staff have been hospitalised as a result of assault while on duty is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The numbers of reported physical assaults in acute and foundation trusts in the last three years for which information is available are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2004-05 10,758 
			 2005-06 11,100 
			 2006-07 9,685

Accident and Emergency Departments: Diabetes

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital emergency admissions were recorded in England for diabetic ketoacidosis and hypoglycaemic coma in each of the last five years, broken down by  (a) age,  (b) sex,  (c) type of diabetes and  (d) primary care trust.

Ann Keen: Tables showing emergency hospital admissions with a primary diagnosis of diabetic ketoacidosis or hypoglycaemic coma between 2002-03 and 2006-07, the latest year for which data is available, broken down by age, gender, type of diabetes and primary care trust, have been placed in the Library.

Arthritis

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to collect information on the number of newly diagnosed cases of rheumatoid arthritis; what recent representations he has received on the number of persons with rheumatoid arthritis; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: We have no plans to collect national information on the number of people newly diagnosed with specific medical conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis. Primary care trust commissioners of national health service services should make commissioning decisions by identifying current needs and anticipating future trends. This includes the gathering of quantitative and quantative information that they require to do this.
	We have received representations from individuals asking for information on the number of people with rheumatoid arthritis.

Cancer: Urinary System

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 26th February 2008,  Official Report, column 1454W, on cancer: urinary system, 
	(1)  when he expects the information submitted by strategic health authorities confirming the position for 31st December 2007 to have been analysed; whether this information is being analysed by  (a) his Department and  (b) the NHS Cancer Action team; and whether the results of this analysis will be published;
	(2)  with which strategic health authorities where deadlines are unlikely to be met to ensure recovery plans are in place, his Department's Recovery and Support Unit is liaising;
	(3)  which networks in summer 2007 were  (a) already reporting implementation of the Improving Outcomes Guidance and  (b) reporting that they were on schedule to implement the Guidance by 31st December 2007.

Ann Keen: The information submitted by strategic health authorities (SHAs) confirming the position for 31 December 2007 has now been analysed by the cancer action team. There are no plans to publish this analysis.
	The recovery and support unit is liaising with six SHAs to ensure recovery plans are in place where deadlines are unlikely to be met. The SHAs concerned are:
	East of England;
	Yorkshire and the Humber;
	South Central;
	East Midlands;
	West Midlands; and
	South east coast.
	In summer 2007, the cancer networks reporting implementation of the urological Improving Outcomes Guidance were:
	Arden;
	Derby and Burton;
	Greater Manchester and Cheshire;
	Lancashire and South Cumbria;
	Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland;
	Merseyside and Cheshire;
	Mount Vernon(1)
	North of England;
	North Trent;
	Pan Birmingham;
	Peninsula;
	South East London;
	South West London; and
	Thames Valley.
	In summer 2007, the following cancer networks reported that they were on schedule to implement the urological Improving Outcomes Guidance by 31 December 2007 were: -
	Anglia;
	Avon Somerset and Wiltshire;
	Dorset;
	Essex;
	North East London;
	North London;
	Sussex;
	Three Counties; and
	West London.
	(1) Mount Vernon's plans were interim and based on a proposed new build at Hatfield. The new build is not now going ahead and implementation of a revised urology Improving Outcome Guidance action plan for Mount Vernon is expected later this year.

Cardiovascular System: Screening

Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence he has assessed on the  (a) health effects and  (b) cost-effectiveness of screening the general population for cardiovascular disease.

Ann Keen: The Department has undertaken modelling work which has confirmed that a universal vascular checks programme for those aged between 40 and 74 years is both cost and clinically effective. It will publish a technical report on the modelling work in summer 2008 which will be the subject of a consultation.

Cardiovascular System: Screening

Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the merits of screening specific high risk populations for cardiovascular disease, with particular reference to people with rheumatoid arthritis; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The National Screening Committee recommended that a whole population approach be taken to vascular risk assessment. The Department's subsequent modelling has confirmed that a vascular checks programme, as described in 'Putting Prevention First', would be both clinically and cost effective for those aged between 40 and 74. However, assessment and management of cardiovascular risk of people with conditions that put them at higher risk of cardiovascular disease may be undertaken as part of their overall clinical management where indicated. Copies of this publication are available in the Library.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Health Services

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department plans to take to assess what services are offered to children and adults who are bedbound or housebound due to the effects of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome;
	(2)  what steps his Department plans to take to address the geographical gaps which exist in local specialist services for people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome;
	(3)  what steps his Department is taking to encourage primary care trusts to implement the recommendations of the new guidelines on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome produced in August 2007 by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

Ann Keen: Health professionals are expected to use their clinical judgment taking into account best practice and existing clinical guidelines, including those produced by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, to provide the most appropriate treatment for the individual living with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME).
	We have made no assessment of the services provided for children and young people.
	We have no plans to address any geographical gaps in the provision of local specialist services. Local health bodies have a duty to commission health and social care services to meet the needs of their local population, including those living with CFS/ME.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Health Services

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to reduce the average time taken to diagnose myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Ann Keen: Diagnosis for chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis can be prolonged as there is no specific test for this condition, and therefore other diseases with similar symptoms must be ruled out before a diagnosis can be made. The recent guidance produced by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence provides a list of medical tests that should be used to rule out other conditions.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Young People

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department plans to take to address the effect on paediatric services for children and young people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome of the closure of units in Leeds, Stevenage and London.

Ann Keen: We have no plans to address the effect on paediatric services for children and young people by the closure of these specialist units. Local health bodies have a duty to commission health and social care services to meet the needs of their local population, including those living with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Departmental Surveys

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what surveys were conducted by  (a) YouGov,  (b) ICM,  (c) Gallup,  (d) GfK NOP,  (f) ComRes and  (g) Opinion Leader Research on behalf of his Department in the financial year 2007-08; and what the cost of each to the public purse was.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not collect, centrally, information on surveys it commissions in the format requested. To do so would attract disproportionate cost.
	A new system will be introduced on 1 July 2008 called SHOWA, which will be able to gather such future but not retrospective information for the Department.

Doctors: Working Hours

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of NHS doctors of each specialty and grade which will be needed to meet the requirements of the European Working Time Directive in each of the next 10 years.

Ann Keen: There were 46,783 doctors in training and equivalent grades working in the national health service as of 30 September 2007. This is an increase of 16,470 (54 per cent.) since 1997.
	NHS trusts have successfully delivered the current European Working Time Directive (EWTD) requirements. The Department commissioned NHS National Workforce Projects to support local implementation of the final phase of EWTD requirements, namely the 48-hour working week for doctors in training. The solutions developed to support the local NHS do not rely on lots more doctors.

Doctors: Working Hours

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS doctors worked for 48 hours a week or fewer in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally. It is the responsibility of local employers to implement European Working Time Directive (EWTD) as part of their health and safety obligations. The new deal contract monitoring returns give an indication of national health service readiness for fully implementing the EWTD 48-hour week for doctors in training. Monitoring information for 2007 is published on the NHS employers website at:
	www.nhsemployers.org/pay-conditions/pay-conditions-467.cfm.
	In 2007, approximately half of doctors in training worked a 48-hour week.

General Practitioners

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in which local authority wards he plans to establish new GP practices as part of his Department's programme to provide greater GP provision in those primary care trusts with the poorest provision.

Ben Bradshaw: Those primary care trusts with poorest provision are currently engaging with their stakeholders, including local patients and clinicians, through their local consultations to determine the precise locations of these new services. Information on these PCTs is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Primary care trust (PCT)  Strategic health authority (SHA) 
			 Manchester PCT North West SHA 
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT London SHA 
			 Knowsley PCT North West SHA 
			 Sandwell PCT West Midlands SHA 
			 Wolverhampton City PCT West Midlands SHA 
			 Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT North West SHA 
			 Liverpool PCT North West SHA 
			 Sunderland Teaching PCT North East SHA 
			 Birmingham East and North PCT West Midlands SHA 
			 Halton and St. Helens PCT North West SHA 
			 Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT West Midlands SHA 
			 Barnsley PCT Yorkshire and the Humber SHA 
			 Leicester City PCT East Midlands SHA 
			 Oldham PCT North West SHA 
			 Blackburn with Darwen PCT North West SHA 
			 Stoke on Trent PCT West Midlands SHA 
			 Hounslow PCT London SHA 
			 Hull PCT Yorkshire and the Humber SHA 
			 Nottingham City PCT East Midlands SHA 
			 Blackpool PCT North West SHA 
			 Ashton, Leigh and Wigan PCT North West SHA 
			 Dudley PCT West Midlands SHA 
			 Bolton PCT North West SHA 
			 Greenwich Teaching PCT London SHA 
			 Sefton PCT North West SHA 
			 Medway Teaching PCT South East Coast SHA 
			 Salford PCT North West SHA 
			 Hartlepool PCT North East SHA 
			 Tameside and Glossop PCT North West SHA 
			 Walsall Teaching PCT West Midlands SHA 
			 Newcastle PCT North East SHA 
			 Redcar and Cleveland PCT North East SHA 
			 South Tyneside PCT North East SHA 
			 Calderdale PCT Yorkshire and the Humber SHA 
			 North Lancashire PCT North West SHA 
			 Luton Teaching PCT East of England SHA 
			 Havering PCT London SHA 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT London SHA 
			 Rotherham PCT Yorkshire and the Humber SHA 
			 Enfield PCT London SHA 
			 Bury PCT North West SHA 
			 South Birmingham PCT West Midlands SHA 
			 Telford and Wrekin PCT West Midlands SHA 
			 Newham PCT London SHA 
			 Gateshead PCT North East SHA 
			 Coventry Teaching PCT West Midlands SHA 
			 Bristol PCT South West SHA 
			 North Somerset PCT South West SHA 
			 Middlesbrough PCT North East SHA 
			 East Lancashire PCT North West SHA

Health Professions: Occupational Health

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government have taken to promote well-being among healthcare professionals and support staff since 1997.

Ann Keen: The Government have done a good deal to promote well-being among health care professionals and support staff since 1997. This includes: Improving Working Lives (2000) and Practice Plus (2001); NHS Plus (2001), providing occupational health to NHS staff; the NHS Employers' reference guide to staff well-being, the Healthy Workplaces Handbook (October 2007); NHS Health and Well-being pilots and 'Health for Health professionals' pilots (2008). In addition, a number of primary care trusts (PCTs) took part in both the recent departmental sponsored Investors in People Health and Well-being at Work and British Health Foundation Well@Work pilots.
	For the future, the Government will be responding later in the year to the proposals in Professor Dame Carol Black's, the National Director for Health and Work's Review of the health of the working age, "Working for a healthier tomorrow" (March 2008) to make all work places healthier. Copies of this publication are available in the Library.

Health Professions: Working Hours

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he and his officials have had with European counterparts on the European Working Time Directive in each of the last 10 years.

Ann Keen: Over the last decade, there have been many discussions within Europe at both Ministerial and official level about impact of the SiMAP and Jaeger Judgments and retention of the opt-out.
	The Government will continue to try to secure an acceptable agreement with member states and the European Commission on the European Working Time Directive.

Health Services

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government have taken to ensure high standards of health care services during night-time hours since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government have listened to the issues that are important to the public in relation to health care services at night-time and delivered real improvements to availability and standards of services. Improvements have included:
	the introduction of NHS Direct giving people a means of accessing health advice at any time and where necessary being supported to access appropriate treatment;
	improved availability of out of hours pharmacy services. The Pharmacy White Paper, published in April, sets out ways in which urgent access to medicines can be further improved;
	allowing general practitioners to transfer responsibility for providing out of hours services to primary care trusts (PCTs). This has given PCTs the legal responsibility and opportunity to ensure that everyone has access to consistently high quality and responsive out of hours service; and
	a guide to risk-assessing hospitals at night to help ensure that hospital at night solutions are designed and implemented to provide safer patient care was jointly published by the National Patient Safety Agency and Modernisation Agency.
	In addition to the service improvements that have taken place over the last 10 years, there has been a focus on assessing performance which has looked not only at service availability but also the quality of those services. In 2004 the Department published, "Standards for Better Health (National Standards Local Health and Social Care Standards and Planning Framework 2005-06—2007-08)" setting out the level of quality all organisations providing national health service care are expected to meet or aspire to across the NHS in England. Copies of this publication are available in the Library.
	The current performance assessment model carried out by the independent regulator, the Healthcare Commission, includes the core standards i.e. the minimum level of quality that health care services are expected to meet. Each year, the Healthcare Commission produces the Annual Health Check detailing the outcome of this performance assessment. The Commission also regulates independent health care providers.

Health Services: Overseas Residence

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the effect of the implementation of the Working Time Directive in other EU member states on the ability of UK citizens to access healthcare of equal quality in those states.

Ann Keen: No. This is not part of the United Kingdom Government's responsibility.

Hospital Wards

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the take-up rate by NHS trusts in England of the NHS Institute's Productive Ward implementation modules launched in January.

Ann Keen: No assessment has been carried out centrally. It is for local national health service trusts in partnership with strategic health authorities to implement the productive ward programme in accordance with local needs.

Hospitals: Housing

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the requirement for a junior doctor to reside in accommodation supplied by the hospital approved for training was ended in April 2007; and what discussions he has had with the NHS Confederation and individual trusts on putting alternative arrangements in place.

Ann Keen: Changes to the Medical Act 1983 made in August 2007 remove the requirement for pre-registration doctors to be employed in a 'residential medical capacity'. This represents an improvement in their conditions of service and reflects the reduction in their working hours. As the statutory requirement to be resident no longer exists, these doctors will need to make the same arrangements as other national health service staff.
	This issue was considered by the independent Doctors and Dentists Review Body (DDRB) in their 2008 report following evidence submitted by the British Medical Association, NHS Employers (part of the NHS Confederation) and the United Kingdom Health Departments. The DDRB concluded
	"...we consider it entirely appropriate that junior doctors are treated in exactly the same way as other NHS staff."
	Copies of the "Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration, 37(th) report, 2008" are available in the Library.

Kernicterus

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 7 November 2007,  Official Report, column 1285W, on kernicterus, 
	(1)  when the Department plans to consider whether additional information should be added to the Pregnancy Book;
	(2)  how many  (a) deaths and  (b) morbidities from kernicterus there were in the last 10 years, broken down by (i) maternity unit and (ii) ethnicity;
	(3)  with reference to the answer of 25 January 2007,  Official Report, column 2045W, on the Pregnancy Book, what options are under consideration for the future of the Pregnancy Book, contingent on the outcome of the review.

Ann Keen: We do not hold statistics centrally in the form requested. However, the number of admissions to hospital for which kernicterus was given as the main cause are shown in the following table. This is not, of course, likely to give a complete picture of morbidity since other causes of admission, such as jaundice, may be recorded instead.
	
		
			  National health service hospitals England and activity performed in the independent sector in England commissioned by English NHS ,  c ount of hospital admissions where the primary diagnosis was Kernicterus 
			   Admissions 
			 2006-07 8 
			 2005-06 3 
			 2004-05 7 
			 2003-04 3 
			 2002-03 7 
			 2001-02 0 
			 2000-01 2 
			 1999-2000 2 
			 1998-99 5 
			 1997-98 3 
		
	
	We are currently considering changes to the content of future editions of the Pregnancy Book.

Kernicterus

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 25 June 2007,  Official Report, column 271W, on the Pregnancy Book, 
	(1)  whether standardisation of total serum bilirubin measurements has been accomplished; whether the cases of kernicterus reported to the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit have been analysed with a root cause analysis; whether a system of mandatory reporting of elevated bilirubin levels has been established; and what arrangements have been made for ready access to transcutaneous bilirubin and total serum bilirubin measurements among in-patients and out-patients;
	(2)  with reference to the answer of 25 January 2007,  Official Report, column 2045W, on the Pregnancy Book, if he will place in the Library the results of the work which was commissioned to complete the review.

Ann Keen: British Paediatric Surveillance Unit data formed the basis of a 'Prospective Surveillance Study of Severe Byperbilirubinaemia in the Newborn in the UK and Ireland' (Donal Manning, et al Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 2007; 992:342-346). Copies of this study have been placed in the Library.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently developing guidance on the recognition and treatment of neonatal jaundice and recently carried out a consultation on the scope of the guideline. NICE expects to issue the guideline in early 2010.
	The UK National Screening Committee will consider action on the report when the scope of the NICE guideline is finalised.

Magnetic Resonance Imagers

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Government has to increase the number of magnetic resonance imaging scanners in the NHS.

Ann Keen: The acquisition of imaging equipment such as magnetic resonance imaging scanners is a local matter and individual national health service trusts should base decisions on local needs and the existing capacity they have to meet those needs.

Medical Records

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the procedure is for patients to choose not to have a summary care record; and what steps general practitioners have to take to put that choice into effect.

Ben Bradshaw: Currently, patients who do not want a summary care record (SCR) are advised to make their wishes known to their general practice. Guidance has been issued to all general practices entitled "Guidance On Managing Requests For No Summary Care Record During The Period Of The Early Adopter Programme" on how they should respond to patients' inquiries about their options in relation to SCR, including to those patients who have decided not to have a SCR. Copies of the guidance have been placed in the Library and are also available at:
	www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/systemsandservices/nhscrs/publications/staff/gpguidance.pdf
	The essence of the guidance is that practices should ensure patients fully understand the implications of their decision, and that a record is kept to that effect, signed both by the patient, and on behalf of the practice.
	SCRs cannot be created without the agreement and co-operation of general practitioners, who are currently the data controllers for the records from which the relevant data will be uploaded. The Department can only recommend that practices follow its advice in line with the guidance.
	These and other practical aspects of how patients are able to exercise the choices they have in relation to the SCR will be among the key issues to be reviewed by the summary care record advisory group in light of the recently published independent evaluation of the SCR Early Adopters Programme in order to inform the future roll-out of the SCR.

Medical Records: Databases

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 26 March 2008,  Official Report, column 206W, on medical records: databases, for what reasons Connecting for Health cannot comment on the specific monitoring processes; and what estimate he has made of the likely number of alerts  (a) per day and  (b) each Caldicott Guardian will be able to monitor.

Ben Bradshaw: Systems delivered by NHS Connecting for Health will provide the alert data and tools for reviewing alerts, but detailed monitoring arrangements and assessment of follow up actions are the responsibility of local national health service organisations and individual Caldicott Guardians.
	Staff who breach patient confidentiality are subject to disciplinary measures and the legal penalties provided under the Data Protection Act, and professional staff risk losing their licence to practice. There is no evidence that breaches currently happen other than very exceptionally. We expect this to continue to be the case when systems are deployed that have the ability to audit behaviour.
	Only a small number of alerts are therefore expected, and we anticipate that Caldicott Guardians, or their delegated representatives, will be able to monitor all alerts raised to them.

Medical Records: Databases

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 26 March 2008,  Official Report, column 206W, on medical records: databases 
	(1)  under what terms and conditions suppliers will have access;
	(2)  which NHS suppliers will have access to the secondary users service; and what terms and conditions will govern such access.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 9 May 2008
	The terms and conditions are being agreed but include, for example, limitations on the disclosure of data to third parties and the copying of data, and termination and liability clauses in the event of unauthorised disclosure of personally-identifiable information. There will also be a right of audit to verify adherence to the terms and conditions, which will be the key condition determining permission to access for those wishing to use the service.
	When finalised, the terms and conditions will be published.

Medicine: Education

Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of medical students studying in English medical schools in England gained entry from  (a) British and  (b) overseas schools in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The Department does not collect this information. However, data on the normal place of residency of students are collected by the Higher Education Funding Council for England. The latest provisional figures for student intakes into English medical schools in the academic year 2007-08 show that of the total 6,292 student intakes, 89 per cent. are normally resident in Great Britain and the remaining 11 per cent. are normally resident overseas (including in Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and Isle of Man). Confirmed figures from the previous three years show that the corresponding percentage of intakes normally resident in Great Britain was 90 per cent.
	 Source
	Higher Education Funding Council for England Annual Medical and Dental Students Survey

Mental Health Services: Prisons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on recommendations 1.39, 1.42 and 1.44 of the HM Inspectorate of Prisons report entitled The Mental Health of Prisoners Thematic, published in October 2007.

Ivan Lewis: The report, The Mental Health of Prisoners Thematic (HMIP, 2007) made a number of recommendations about improving mental health care in prisons. The Department of Health is preparing its response to all these recommendations.
	I meet regularly with ministerial colleagues at the Ministry of Justice to discuss matters relating to mental health in prisons. In December 2007, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice invited my noble Friend Lord Bradley of Withington to carry out a review into diverting more offenders with severe mental health problems away from prison into more appropriate accommodation, (5 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1703-6). Lord Bradley will report jointly to the Department of Health and the Ministry of Justice.

NHS: Complaints

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has held with the National Audit Office on progress on its examination of plans to develop a comprehensive single complaints system across health and social care by 2009.

Ann Keen: The National Audit Office (NAO) has recently undertaken an evaluation of existing performance, capability, capacity and costs of complaints handling in both health and adult social care.
	In discussion between the NAO and the Department of Health about its remit for this evaluation, it was agreed that one of the objectives should be to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the current complaints systems and identify the challenges and risks that will need to be managed in developing a comprehensive single complaints system across health and social care. The NAO is due to produce the report of its evaluation in summer 2008.

NHS: Complaints

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints were reviewed by the Healthcare Commission relating to health care services in Wirral during 2007.

Ben Bradshaw: We understand from the Healthcare Commission that the information is not available in the form requested, the Commission records complaints by service provider rather than by geographical or local authority area. Information about the number of complaints involving the three main NHS organisations responsible for health care in Wirral reviewed in 2007 is set out as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust 8 
			 Wirral Hospitals NHS Trust 35 
			 Wirral PCT 9 
		
	
	Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust provides services both in and outside Wirral and is now Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Wirral Hospitals NHS Trust is now Wirral University Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

NHS: Hanover Communications

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what payments the  (a) NHS Cancer Screening Programme and  (b) NHS Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Screening Programme made to Hanover Communications in each of the last five years; and on what dates and for what purpose the payment was made in each case.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not held centrally—details of individual sub-contractual payments are held by the individual national health service body.

NHS: ICT

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 25 March 2008,  Official Report, column 26W, on NHS: ICT, what the timetable is to which the answer refers.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for South Norfolk (Mr. Bacon) on 12 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 475-77W.

NHS: Identity Cards

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 27 February 2006,  Official Report, column 439W, on the European Health Insurance Card, if he will place in the Library minutes of discussions of the potential costs and benefits of the proposed national health service card with the NHS Connecting for Health National Programme for IT; and what his policy is on whether to introduce an NHS card.

Ben Bradshaw: A number of discussions took place in the course of developing policy advice to Ministers on the possible costs and benefits of an national health service card. The Government do not disclose details of internal policy deliberations. There are no current plans to introduce an NHS card.

NHS: Negligence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the policy of the NHS Litigation Authority is in respect of defending clinical negligence claims funded by  (a) conditional fee agreements and  (b) legal aid.

Ann Keen: The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) is responsible for handling clinical negligence claims made against members of its schemes. It does not have a policy in respect of defending claims based upon the funding arrangements of the claim. Case managers at the NHSLA make decisions on the defence of each claim based upon the available facts and expert legal and medical opinion. Claimants are not required to report their funding arrangements unless the claim proceeds to court.

NHS: Public Participation

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many local authorities have appointed host organisations to set up local involvement networks (LINks); and what steps the Government are taking to ensure that host organisations for LINks will be in place by the September 2008 deadline.

Ann Keen: The Government do not collect the requested data centrally. However, the Local Government Association, in partnership with the Department has compiled the following information. Local authorities (LAs), when asked when they expected to award a contract to a host organisation for the purpose of setting up a local involvement network (LINk) declared the following (as of 23 April 2008):
	42 LAs had awarded a contract prior to 1 April;
	22 LAs anticipated awarding a contract by the end of April;
	17 LAs anticipated awarding a contract by the end of May;
	21 LAs anticipated awarding a contract by the end of June;
	17 LAs anticipated awarding a contract by the end of July;
	five LAs anticipated awarding a contract by the end of August;
	10 LAs anticipated awarding a contract by the end of September; and
	three LAs responded with an unspecified deadline but anticipated that they would award a contract by September.
	While, these data do not represent a definitive picture as only 137 of the 150 LAs with social services responsibilities responded to the informal poll, we think the findings are encouraging.
	The Department issued two guidance documents in August 2007, designed to help LAs get ready for LINks, one of these documents contained a 'model contract' for LAs to use as a reference. This guidance accompanied a one-off payment of £10,000 to each LA to assist them in the procurement process.
	Since that time, LINk leads—who are based in LAs—have received monthly bulletins updating them on LINks policy developments and giving them the practical information they need to set up a successful LINk. Further, as part of the programme of support the Department is offering for LINks, expert advisers from the NHS National Centre for Involvement (NCI) have visited LAs to provide help and advice and good practice has been shared more widely at workshops and seminars. The NCI has also produced a compendium of guidance to help support LINks implementation.

NHS: Working Hours

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department requires NHS trusts to collect in order to monitor compliance with the Working Time Directive.

Ann Keen: The Department does not require national health service trusts to collect information to monitor compliance with the European Working Time Directive (EWTD). Local NHS trusts are responsible for implementing the EWTD as part of their health and safety obligations.
	The Working Time Regulations (WTR) require employers to keep adequate records of working hours and the Department has helped to communicate these regulations through guidance. Guidance on the WTR can be found on the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform's website at:
	www.berr.gov.uk/employment/employment-legislation/employment-guidance/page28978.html

Orthopaedics: Waiting Lists

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the optimum NHS commissioning strategies needed to achieve the 18 week target for  (a) orthopaedic and  (b) rheumatology appointments; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The Department has published 40 18-week commissioning pathways covering the highest volume specialties, including orthopaedics and rheumatology. In addition, the Department has published the "Musculoskeletal Services Framework" (MSF) that demonstrates a new model of service to deliver better care, closer to home for the estimated 10 million people in the UK with bone and joint conditions.
	The MSF and all commissioning pathways are available from www.18weeks.nhs.uk.

Prostate Cancer Advisory Group

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library copies of the  (a) agendas and  (b) minutes of each meeting of the Prostate Cancer Advisory Group since its inception.

Ann Keen: Agendas of the Prostate Cancer Advisory Group (PCAG) have been placed in the Library. The minutes of PCAG meetings record decisions taken by the Group, which constitute advice to Ministers and therefore cannot be published.

Prostate Cancer: Staff

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Answer of 26 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1476W, on prostate cancer: staff, if he will place in the Library a copy of each of the latest reports submitted by strategic health authorities to his Department detailing cancer networks'  (a) progress in meeting any milestones contained in the Improving Outcomes Guidance on Urological Cancers in the last six months and  (b) likelihood of meeting future milestones on schedule.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not collected. Strategic health authority (SHA) returns to the Department do not detail progress on individual Improving Outcomes Guidance milestones.
	However, SHA returns do detail whether cancer networks have met or are on target to meet all IOG milestones. Information from the latest returns along with relevant comments from the returns about cancer networks' progress in implementing the urology IOG are in the following table.
	
		
			  Improving Outcomes Guidance (IOG)—cancer networks, December 2007 
			  Organisation  Cancer network  Milestones met( 1)  On target  Comment 1  Comment 2 
			 East Midlands Derby-Burton Yes Yes — — 
			 East Midlands LNR Yes Yes — — 
			 East Midlands Mid Trent No No Urology IOG—Revised IOG compliant pathway signed off by Network Board and relevant CEOs and now implemented. This is based on a joint consultant appointment between Sherwood Forest NHS Trust and Derby. — 
			   
			 East of England Essex No Yes — — 
			 East of England Mount Vernon No Yes Urology. Following delays to the Hatfield Cancer Centre proposals the NHS EoE has required the network to develop IOG Action Plans to designate IOG-compliant Cancer Centres. These plans will replace previously agreed 'interim' plans with more than one MVCN 'Centre' for each tumour site. The four new plans designating IOG compliant centres, were submitted to the Cancer Action Team in December and formal agreement is awaited. — 
			 East of England Anglia No Yes Urology. IOG Action plan identifying IOG Compliant pathways for the population of east Suffolk/catchment population of Ipswich Hospital, following inclusion of this population in the new Anglia Cancer Network. No previous plan submitted for this population. Plan submitted to the Cancer Action in December and formal agreement is awaited. December 2007 milestone for transfer of surgery and SMDT achieved. — 
			   
			 London South East London No No — — 
			 London North East London Cancer Network Yes No — — 
			 London West London Cancer Network Yes Yes — — 
			 London North London Cancer Network Yes Yes — Urology—after significant pressure the Royal Free finally agreed to allow centralisation of open and lacroscopic procedures at UCLH. This started in December and is successful peer review revisit of the specialist MDT took place in January 2008. 
			 London South West London Yes Yes — — 
			   
			 North East North of England cancer Network No Yes — — 
			   
			 North West Cheshire Cancer Network No Yes Urology—NE of Network has not implemented single site working for either—being led by Chair of Cancer Network. — 
			 North West Cumbria and South Lancashire Cancer Network No Yes — — 
			 North West Merseyside and Cheshire Cancer Network Yes Yes — — 
			   
			 South Central Thames Valley Cancer Network No Yes Urology—Penile non-compliant. Plan to be compliant from 1 February 2008 with RBHT as satellite of UCLH. Proposal should be going to specialist commissioners on 18 January 2008 for sign off. — 
			 South Central Central South Coast Cancer Network No Yes — — 
			   
			 South East Coast Kent and Medway No No Urology. — 
			 (1) Three MDTs now in place; each is compliant in terms of the target for 50 total cystectomy/radical prostatectomy target. — 
			 (2) Agreed that there will only be two MDTs; one in East Kent the other in West Kent. — 
			 (3) Work plans in place (and submitted to the National Team) outlining the strategy to achieve 2 MDTs. — 
			 (4) Decisions on final reconfiguration expected by Mid February 2008. — 
			 South East Coast Surrey, West Sussex and Hampshire No Yes Urology—Following further discussion at Network Policy Board and Tumour Group level the decision has been taken to move to a single specialist centre for bladder and prostate based on the Royal Surrey site in Guildford. However because of the need to develop infrastructure including consultant cover etc. the service will not be fully IOG compliant until April 2010. However, the network is confident that a safe and effective service is being provided in the interim. — 
			 South East Coast Sussex No No Urology—Network specialist MDT began in December 2007 on time. Therefore referral guidelines between local and specialist MDTs and clinical guidelines of specialist MDTs have been agreed. Transfer of surgical work has occurred as necessary. Ongoing—Functioning of supraregional MDTs (penile and testicular) to be reviewed, in terms of cases referred, to ensure compliant with IOG. Missed milestones = December 2006—not all clinical guidelines agreed as per quality measures. Now specialist teams in place, to be a priority. — 
			   
			 South West Avon, Somerset and Wiltshire No Yes — — 
			 South West Three Counties No No Urology IOG—has been implemented; although the current agreed model for Gloucestershire and Herefordshire will change in 2011 with all urological services moving to a single site at Cheltenham General Hospital. This move is dependent on a earlier capital plan implementation. The Specialist MDT starts to meet weekly in mid-February. There is also a resection centre at Redditch which is part of the Three Counties and Arden Cancer Networks' specialist multidisciplinary teams. Full compliance by Mid February 2008. — 
			 South West Dorset Yes Yes — — 
			 South West Peninsula No Yes — — 
			   
			 West Midlands Arden No Yes While the Urology SMDT was established for the Network in early 2007, there is currently a gap in clinical representation from the Alexandra Hospital, Redditch (part of the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust). A further meeting has been arranged for 18 January 2008 in conjunction with Three Counties Cancer Network and the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust to review the timing of the established SMDT in order to facilitate representation from the Alexandra Hospital, Redditch. Thus while the Network is currently mostly compliant we are not fully so in respect of the Worcestershire population at this point in time. — 
			 West Midlands Greater Midlands No Yes Urology not implemented. Plan is agreed to have one smdt video conferenced December 2008. — 
			 West Midlands Pan Birmingham No Yes — — 
			   
			 Yorkshire and Humber Coast No Yes Urology—Centralisation of Radical Prostatectomies outstanding—September 2008 — 
			 Yorkshire and Humber North Trent Cancer Network No Yes — — 
			 Yorkshire and Humber Yorkshire No Yes — — 
			 (1) Milestones met/on target refers to SHAs overall progress on implementation of all the Improving Outcomes Guidance.

Thrombosis

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many successful clinical negligence claims in relation to venous thromboembolism were made against NHS bodies in each year between 1996 and 2006;
	(2)  how much compensation was awarded for venous thromboembolism clinical negligence claims against NHS bodies between 1996 and 2006; and what the average amount of compensation awarded was;
	(3)  what the legal costs for NHS bodies were related to venous thromboembolism clinical negligence claims in each year between 1996 and 2006.

Ann Keen: The information requested is shown in the following tables and was provided by the NHS Litigation Authority. The data only cover claims made against national health service trusts, NHS foundation trusts and primary care trusts. Claims may include other injuries that have been compensated, not just those relating to venous thromboembolism. Table 1 shows data relating to successful claims, including the number of claims, total compensation paid, average compensation paid and legal costs paid by defence. Table 2 shows the data relating to unsuccessful claims, including number of claims and legal costs paid by defence.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of clinical negligence claims closed with compensation by year of  closure where thrombosis/embolism is the injury or deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary  embolism or venous thromboembolism is mentioned in the incident details  as at 31 March 2008 
			  Year of closure  Number of claims  Compensation paid (£)  Average compensation paid (£)  Defence costs paid (£) 
			 1997-98 4 57,500 14,375 14,581 
			 1998-99 12 333,308 27,776 125,551 
			 1999-2000 29 1,861,402 64,186 343,282 
			 2000-01 15 623,036 41,536 122,365 
			 2001-02 28 2,076,851 74,173 324,743 
			 2002-03 36 1,268,643 35,240 356,205 
			 2003-04 41 1,874,569 45,721 579,001 
			 2004-05 46 3,421,756 74,386 613,826 
			 2005-06 37 1,728,390 46,713 372,555 
			 2006-07 40 2,377,497 59,437 477,964 
			 Total 288 15,622,953 54,246 3,330,070 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of clinical negligence claims closed with nil compensation by year of closure where thrombosis/embolism is the injury or deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism or venous thromboembolism is mentioned in the incident details  as at 31 March 2008 
			  Year of closure  Number of claims  Compensation paid (£)  Defence costs paid (£) 
			 1995-96 1 0 0 
			 1996-97 1 0 0 
			 1997-98 1 0 13,095 
			 1998-99 5 0 3,204 
			 1999-2000 7 0 51,196 
			 2000-01 8 0 31,188 
			 2001-02 14 0 99,453 
			 2002-03 44 0 216,352 
			 2003-04 57 0 165,792 
			 2004-05 38 0 107,995 
			 2005-06 35 0 137,582 
			 2006-07 39 0 149,819 
			 Total 250 0 975,674

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks: Crime

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) males and  (b) females in the London Borough of Bexley were arrested for alcohol-related offences in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The arrests collection undertaken by the Ministry of Justice provides data on persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences), by age group, gender, ethnicity, and main offence group, i.e. violence against the person, sexual offences, robbery, burglary, etc. More detailed data about specific offences do not form part of this collection.

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government have taken to combat drinking in public places by those under age.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 12 May 2008
	The Government take underage drinking very seriously. The National Alcohol Strategy 'Safe.Sensible.Social' published in June 2007, focuses action on three groups most at risk which are 18 to 24 year-old binge drinkers, young people under 18 who drink alcohol, and harmful drinkers whose drinking is damaging their health, often without them realising it.
	In the Home Secretary's speech on 6 February 2008, she said that a number of new measures and possible steps would be taken to crack down on crime and antisocial behaviour which is fuelled by alcohol. This includes highlighting the message that it is not acceptable for young people to drink in public places. The Home Secretary also said that she is considering a number of options including making the possession of alcohol by a young person an offence, or possibly involving the parents if alcohol is confiscated from a child. We are currently considering the effectiveness of the current powers and what can be done to help the police use them more effectively.
	The Department for Children, Schools and Families will shortly be publishing a Youth Alcohol Action Plan which will build on the toughened enforcement of the underage drinking laws. It will set out the responsibilities of parents and the alcohol industry as well as sending a clear message that young people drinking in public is not acceptable.
	Additionally, two confiscation campaigns have taken place recently; one in October 2007 and one in February 2008. The results of the October campaign where 23 out of the 227 Basic Command Units (BCUs) took part, showed that nearly 3,700 litres of alcohol were confiscated from young people during the four week period. The February 2008 campaign involved 165 BCUs where 21,000 litres of alcohol was confiscated during a two week period. Activity in both campaigns focussed on school holidays and weekends when young people were most likely to be engaged in this activity.
	Other campaigns include the tackling underage sales of alcohol campaign (TUSAC) which focused on shop keepers who sold alcohol to children. The TUSAC took place between May and July 2007 and demonstrated a new approach to test purchase campaigns by focusing on perceived problem premises identified locally. The results of the latest Tackling Underage Sales of Alcohol Campaign (TUSAC) show that it is increasingly difficult for under-18s to purchase alcohol. This is in large part thanks to tougher enforcement by police and trading standards in conjunction with the positive efforts of industry to clamp down on underage sales.
	The Government also support schemes that make it easier for retailers to verify, and young people to prove their age. That is why we are working with the British Retail Consortium's Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) which validates the variety of proof of age card schemes available. This allows card schemes to apply for accreditation under PASS and entitles them to issue cards displaying the PASS holographic logo. This is easily recognisable both to retailers and young people and helps them know that they have a proof of age document which should be accepted. The Government have recently given the Proof of Age Standards Scheme 50,000 in order to assist the PASS Board in raising awareness of the scheme amongst young people and retailers.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Enfield

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders were issued in the London Borough of Enfield in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) became available in April 1999. The latest available information on the number of ASBOs issued goes up to 31 December 2006. The available information is shown in the following tables.
	ASBO data were available broken down by local authority areas up to December 2005. Data for 2006 are available at criminal justice system (CJS) area level only so data for Greater London have been provided for that period. CJS areas are coterminous with police force areas.
	
		
			  Number of ASBOs issued at all courts, as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, where restrictions were imposed within the London borough of Enfield, by period up to 31 December 2005 
			  Period 
			   1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000( 1)  1 June 2000 to 31 December 2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  1 April 1999 to 31 December 2005 
			 All persons n/a — — — 2 4 15 21 
			 n/a = Not available. (1) Between 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000, data were collected on aggregate numbers only by police force area (PFA).  Notes: 1. This local authority area table differs from criminal justice system area (CJSA) tables in that an issuing court can be outside the area in which the restrictions have been imposed. For example, an issuing court may be in Hertfordshire (CJSA) but restrictions apply solely to a local authority area within Greater London. 2. Previously issued data have been revised following joint Home Office/Court Service data reconciliation exercises. 3. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of antisocial behaviour orders 'issued' at all courts in the Greater London CJS area, as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, April 1999 to December 2006 
			  Period 
			   1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000( 1)  1 June 2000 to 31 December 2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  1 April 1999 to 31 December 2005 
			 All persons 9 19 15 21 139 446 533 359 1,541 
			 (1) Between 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000, data were collected on aggregate numbers only by police force area (PFA).  Notes: 1. Previously issued data have been revised. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Young Offenders

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders have been prosecuted for breach of antisocial behaviour orders in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: Information collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice and held on their court proceedings database relates only to those found guilty of breaching an antisocial behaviour order. Hence, data on the number of prosecutions for the offence are not available.

Antisocial Behaviour: Crime Prevention

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent on the Respect Squad since its launch; how many people are employed in the Respect Squad; on how many occasions members of the Respect Squad have made practitioner interventions to provide advice on combating anti-social behaviour; and what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Respect Squad.

Vernon Coaker: The Respect Squad was launched in the summer of 2006 and established by the then Respect Task Force. Between the summer of 2006 and the end of 2007 the expenditure on the squad, which comprised existing expert practitioners, was £10,000 to cover their expenses. The Respect squad comprised 10 people, made up of national recognised practitioners who provided advice and assistance for local partners in relation to complex cases of antisocial behaviour. The squad dealt with 53 cases in total since its launch in summer 2006.
	We considered the role of the squad to be very effective which is why the Home Office announced on 8 May a new ASB Action Squad who will help local partners make full use of the existing antisocial behaviour tools and powers.

Crimes of Violence: Schools

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many teachers in England were the victims of  (a) assault and  (b) sexual assault in schools in each of the last three years, broken down by region.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not collected centrally. The Home Office is responsible for the recorded crime statistics which includes data on offences of assault and sexual assaults. However, it is not possible to identify the employment status of the victim.

Driving Offences

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times drivers failed to stop for the police in each of the last five years; and how many of these incidents resulted in  (a) accidents involving other vehicles,  (b) accidents involving police vehicles and  (c) fatal accidents in each of those years.

Vernon Coaker: This information is not collected centrally.

Driving Under Influence: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences of  (a) drug and  (b) drink driving were recorded in the London borough of Bexley in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not collected centrally. The Home Office recorded crime statistics only has figures for the offence of 'causing death by careless driving (including when under the influence of drink or drugs)'. Deaths caused by careless driving when under the influence cannot currently be separately identified from other causing death by careless driving offences. The recorded crime statistics do not count lesser offences of driving under the influence of drink or drugs.
	The Ministry of Justice collect statistics on motoring offences and breath tests in relation to prosecutions and other interventions but they can only provide them at police force area level, and not for local areas such as Bexley.

Eurojust

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what recent discussions she has had with the European Commission on the future of Eurojust; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent discussions she has had with other EU member states on the future of Eurojust; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what representations she has made to  (a) other EU member state governments and  (b) EU institutions on the future of Eurojust; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: UK officials attended an expert level seminar in Lisbon in October 2007 to debate with officials from other member states and the European Commission the future development of Eurojust. In December 2007, the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council, which I attended, adopted conclusions on the same subject. Subsequently, negotiations have begun on amendments to Eurojust's legal base with a view to improving its operation. This proposal was considered at the April JHA Council, attended by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Security, Counter-Terrorism, Crime and Policing, and is on the agenda for the June JHA Council.
	The Government are a firm believer in the important role Eurojust plays in the increasingly complex, cross-border nature of serious and organised crime, which can only be fought effectively through improved judicial co-operation and co-ordination of cases across the EU. Eurojust is helping to break down the barriers to effective judicial co-operation by promoting greater understanding and trust between the different legal systems in member states.
	The Government have supported the general aim of the draft Council decision to improve the functioning of Eurojust. The Government have, however, argued against attempts to grant autonomous powers to Eurojust to oblige action at a national level in relation to investigations and prosecutions, which could be seen as paving the way towards the establishment of a European Public Prosecutor (EPP).

Firearms: Lancashire

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many of those convicted of offences involving the use of firearms in Lancashire in 2007 were aged between 18 and 25 years;
	(2)  how many people under the age of 18 years were  (a) arrested and  (b) convicted for (i) offences involving the use of firearms and (ii) violent offences involving the use of firearms in Lancashire in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many people under the age of 18 years convicted of offences involving the use of firearms in Lancashire  (a) received custodial sentences and  (b) reoffended in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 12 March 2008
	The requested data are not available centrally.
	Firearms are taken to be involved in a crime if they are fired, used as a blunt instrument against a person or used as a threat.
	The arrests collection undertaken by the Ministry of Justice provides data on persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences) by age group, gender, ethnicity and main offence group, i.e. violence against the person, sexual offences, robbery, burglary etc. From data reported centrally we are not able to identify specific offences from within the main offence groups.
	The data held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the court proceedings database do not contain information about the circumstances behind each case beyond the description provided in the statute under which prosecutions are brought. For example, it is not possible to identify how many (i) offences and (ii) violent offences involved the use of a firearm. As a result the information requested on court proceedings is not available.

Firearms: Licensing

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to involve representatives of shooting interests in the setting of the cost of firearm and shotgun certificates and related authorisations; and if she will make it her policy to consult such representatives before any fee increase.

Vernon Coaker: It is for the police service to identify in the first instance the costs associated with firearms administration. Representatives of shooting interests will be consulted at an early stage before any changes are made to the fees for issuing certificates.

Firearms: Young People

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with Lancashire Constabulary on trends in the number of offences committed by persons under the age of 18 years involving the use of firearms.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 12 May 2008
	Members of the Violent Crime Unit are having on-going discussions with Lancashire Constabulary in relation to their gun and gangs problem, particularly in Preston. This includes work with Lancashire Constabulary to review their gangs threat assessment, part of which assesses the threat posed by persons under the age of 18 involved in the use of firearms.

Motorcycles: Training

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 30 April 2008,  Official Report, column 431W, on motorcycles: training, how many offences have been recorded of a rider of a motorcycle with a capacity of under 50cc failing to demonstrate that they have undertaken a compulsory basic training course in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not collected centrally. While the Home Office is responsible for the police recorded crime statistics these offences are summary and, as such, they are not included in the data series.

Offensive Weapons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the use by police forces of the portable metal-detecting knife arches and search wands announced by her Department in February 2008.

Vernon Coaker: The decision to provide additional search arches and wands was informed by the work of Operation Shield, the British Transport Police's enforcement operation, in which arches and wands are deployed to detect those carrying weapons on the transport network. This on-going operation has shown significant results both in detecting and deterring people from carrying weapons and in enhancing community confidence. Police and other partners consider that the use of such equipment is a valuable tool in law enforcement.
	We are committed to supplementing further the provision of search equipment, as set out in the Tackling Violence Action Plan, published on 18 February 2008.

Offensive Weapons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects the additional detection arches and scanners announced by her Department in February 2008 to be made available to police forces.

Vernon Coaker: We are in the process of providing additional search equipment to police forces.

Offensive Weapons: Young People

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on developing initiatives to tackle the possession of illegal knives by young people.

Vernon Coaker: There is considerable work already in place to address the issue of young people carrying knives, including:
	educational initiatives such as Be Safe and other projects which provide workshops on weapons awareness;
	the provision of additional search equipment to the police and other partners;
	tougher legislation, such as the increase in the maximum sentence for possession of a knife from two to four years and the increase in the minimum age at which someone can be sold a knife from 16 to 18.
	We are also working closely with ACPO and the CPS to increase the presumption to prosecute people who carry knives and are developing plans to ensure that all young people convicted of carrying a knife receive focused interventions to change their behaviour and prevent re-offending.
	We will also, at the end of this month, launch a £1 million campaign, developed with the participation of young people, aimed at reducing the carrying of knives by young people.

Olympic Games: China

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what discussions her Department had with the government of China prior to the Olympic torch relay about the role to be played by the Chinese flame security team; what powers the Chinese flame security team were given; what review her Department plans to undertake into the Olympic torch relay and the role played by the Chinese flame security team; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many  (a) males and  (b) females were arrested during the Olympic torch relay, broken down by age group; how many have been prosecuted for offences committed during the relay; how many have been (i) convicted and (ii) acquitted; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  how many  (a) males and  (b) females were injured whilst taking part in a public demonstration during the Olympic torch relay, broken down by age group.

Vernon Coaker: The Torch Relay was co-ordinated by a Community Task Force (CTF), led by the Greater London Authority (GLA) and the British Olympic Association (BOA) in partnership with the Beijing Olympic Organising Committee (BOCOG).
	Each torch relay has torch attendants from the Olympic organising committee responsible for the flame after it has been handed over to the host city. The Chinese torch attendants' roles and responsibilities were as described in the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay Community Planning Guide and the contract between BOCOG and the Greater London Authority and the British Olympic Authority in the document "Agreement—Olympic Torch Relay Services" of 12 October 2007.
	The basis of the agreement was that they were to protect the torch, with activity limited to putting themselves between the torch and anyone who was trying either to take it or to do it damage. They had no policing role or executive power in London. The Metropolitan Police Service was responsible for policing the event and ensuring the safety and security of all those involved. As with any major public event, the Metropolitan Police are liaising with the organisers of the relay to review the procedures which were adopted during the event.
	The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police tells me that 37 arrests were made during the Olympic torch relay. These are broken down as follows:
	29 for breach of the peace;
	one for handling stolen goods; and
	seven for offences under the Public Order Act.
	Of these, three were bailed pending further inquires and the remainder were either cautioned, received a fixed penalty notice, or released with no further action.
	The Home Office does not have information on how many males or females were injured while taking part in a demonstration during the Olympic torch relay.

Organised Crime: Databases

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether DNA data may be shared between EU states through the European database of dangerous offenders in relation to organised crime.

Meg Hillier: The project to develop a European database of dangerous offenders is in the very early stages and no timetable for its becoming operational has yet been set out. No decisions have yet been taken as to whether any biometric information, including DNA should be on this database.

Passports: Interviews

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been refused a passport following a face-to-face passport interview.

Jacqui Smith: Passport application interviews form part of our programme to introduce enhanced security arrangements designed to combat passport fraud and forgery and to counter increasing levels of identity fraud. All first time adult passport applicants are now required to come for interview, but extensive checks are carried out prior to interview and in a number of cases this will uncover issues which will mean that the passport application is withdrawn or refused.
	IPS records are not held in such a way as to be able to ascertain how many applications have been refused as a direct result of an interview. However, the number of interviews that have failed between 9 July 2007 and 27 April 2008 and been referred to the IPS Fraud and Investigation Units for further investigation is 525. Many of these cases will subsequently have been cleared following further checks and passports will have been issued.

Security: Licensing

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many licence applications were rejected by the Security Industry Authority on the grounds of criminality, broken down by  (a) offence and  (b) licence category in each year since its inception.

Vernon Coaker: The total numbers of licence applications refused by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) from 2004-05 to 2007-08 are as follows.
	
		
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Door supervision 1,067 1,586 1,423 1,642 
			 Security guarding — 662 1,833 1,028 
			 Cash and valuables in transit — 42 7 24 
			 Public space surveillance — 2 64 101 
			 Close protection — 1 53 31 
			 Vehicle immobilisation — 85 39 34 
			 Key holding — 0 3 -1 
			 Total 1,067 2,378 3,422 2,859 
		
	
	Applications may be refused on a number of grounds, including criminality, mental health, the lack of the right to work or other information which the SIA may receive. Information on the grounds of refusal is recorded in individual cases but not centrally collated and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Young Offenders

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the effects of financial hardship amongst children and young people on their propensity to offend.

Vernon Coaker: Growing up with poverty and deprivation can have serious impacts on children's experiences and life chances. Poor childhood development and experiences can lead to negative outcomes including lower educational attainment and employability, poor health and poor non-cognitive skills. Such outcomes increase the likelihood that children will face poverty and deprivation later in life leading to intergenerational cycles of deprivation.
	Chapter 5 of Ending Child Poverty—Everybody's Business (published alongside the Budget on 12 March this year) sets out the new approach to developing the child poverty strategy to meet the Government's target for halving child poverty by 2010 and eradicating it by 2020.
	Child poverty is multi-faceted and requires a joined-up approach especially at the local level which is why our new approach sets out the role for Government, communities, local authorities, service providers, employers and families as partners in a contract out of poverty.
	The Government are committed to tackling crime, and in particular intervening early with young people to prevent crime and antisocial behaviour and reduce the impact of youth crime on our communities.
	That is why the Home Office is working closely with the Ministry of Justice and Department for Children, Schools and Families, to develop the Youth Crime Action Plan. The Action Plan will be published in summer 2008. It will set out an overall strategy for youth crime reduction. The Action Plan will deliver results across youth crime prevention and youth justice as well as a cross cutting theme on victimisation. The overall aim is to reduce offending and re-offending by young people.